The Lestranges
by TheGirlFromThere
Summary: Have you ever wondered what would happen if Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange never went to Azkaban? If they had a daughter? This is the story of the most dreadful family of the Wizarding World.
1. Chapter 1

**N/A: This is a new story about The Lestrange family and their OC daughter. I decided to make short chapters so I can post a new chapter every day. :) Hope you enjoy it!**

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 ** _3rd December 1975_**

Kali Black Lestrange was born at midnight. Bellatrix Lestrange's screams were all you could hear in the big mansion. She blamed Rodolphus for this, she blamed him for the sickness, for her body modifications, for not being able to serve the Dark Lord, and now she was blaming him for this pain. She was glad he wasn't in the room with her, otherwise she didn't think she would be able to restrain herself from harming him.

She let out a cry once again, and again. Since her mother was in France and couldn't make it in time, her sister Narcissa was the one by her side. But instead of helping, she was trying really hard not to faint. Bellatrix rolled her eyes, she was going to have to handle her pain and her sister. Talk about help.

"She's almost here." The healer said. "Come on, mommy, push it out!"

Frowning for being called mommy, Bellatrix pushed the baby away from her with all her strength. For eight hours she was in labour, it was time for this little annoyance to get the hell out. She growled and push it harder. The sound of a baby crying indicated that her torment was over.

The healer hold the little baby and smiled before giving it to Bellatrix. It was all dirty and covered in blood. Very disgusting. Bellatrix gave it back to the Healer without a smile and allowed her eyes to close.

When she woke up, Narcissa was sitting in an armchair next to her, holding the baby. When she saw that Bellatrix was awake, she gave the baby – all cleaned up this time – back to her sister.

"It's a beautiful girl." Narcissa said. "How are you going to name her?"

"Kali." Kali means the black one.

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 **N/A:** **Don't forget to Review.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**3dr December 1975**_

Tuesday night was usually Poker night for Rodolphus Lestrange and some other Death Eaters. It was past midnight and the elder Lestrange, Dolohov, MacNair, Rookwood, Rosier and Avery were all gathered around a round table in the Leaky Cauldron.

Rodolphus took a sip of his firewhiskey and tossed his cards on the table. "I fold."

On the other side of the pub, a blond waitress was watching the group from afar. When her hazel eyes met Rodolphus' blue ones, he grinned making her blush and lower her head.

"50 galleons." Rosier bet.

"Make it 100." MacNair bet, throwing the coins aggressively on the table. "If you want to play, do it like a man!"

"I fold too." Avery said just as the waitress approached their table.

"Can I get you something else?" Even if she was asking all of them, she had her eyes set on Rodolphus.

"Another bottle of firewhiskey, love." The waitress gave him a small nervous laugh and went back to the bar. The others watched her leave.

"Nice rack." MacNair commented. "Let's finish it so I can go _do_ something better."

"Well, don't get your hopes too high. She's all over _Roddy_." Rosier grinned and laid back on his chair folding his arms. Since they were at Hogwarts, Rodolphus was the one who always get the attention of girls.

"I'm married." Rodolphus simply replied, smirking as he jiggled his glass.

"Then why aren't you wearing your wedding ring?" Rosier asked defiantly.

Rookwood snorted with laughter. "300." He said.

MacNair looked at him suspiciously. "You're bluffing." Rookwood only raised his eyes from his cards and gave him a malicious grin.

"Fold." Dolohov said. "So, how's your wife doing? We all miss her." He said that last part sarcastically. But, Rodolphus' smirk didn't fade away.

"Very well." He answered. At this moment, the waitress came back with a bottle of firewhiskey. She bent a little to put the bottle in the centre of the table and MacNair took the opportunity to have a better look at her cleavage.

"I finish my shift in an hour." She told Rodolphus.

"Noted." He nodded, still smirking at her, and she returned to work.

"I'm out." Rosier said. "Is that information going to be useful to you?"

Rodolphus didn't answer. Instead he took another sip of his drink. "Beg your pardon?"

"You know what I meant." He insisted. Rodolphus then glanced at the blond waitress, who was also staring at him. She was pretty and had a nice body. The women loved him and he was very smug about it. Not that he ever felt the need to cheat on his wife, but old habits die hard and he enjoyed the game.

"If you don't fuck her, I will." MacNair glanced once again at his cards and then at Rookwood. "All right." He said. "Make it 400." Rookwood raised an eyebrow surprised and then nodded at him. But before he could reveal his cards someone entered the Leaky Cauldron and joined them. Rodolphus frowned slightly at the sight of his brother. It was unusual to see Rabastan in a pub with them, contrary to his brother he was a quiet person and usually preferred to spend his nights by himself.

Everyone was staring at him, also finding it very odd.

"Is everything okay, little bro?" Rodolphus asked, his brows knitted together and with a small smile on his face, as Rabastan pulled a chair for himself.

"Yes." He sat down with them. Rodolphus nodded finding the situation rather amusing. "I was just looking for you. Will you be long?"

"He might be." Rosier laughed nodding at the waitress. Rabastan turned around to look at her but didn't laugh.

"I see." He turned back to his brother. "Well, I just came here to congratulate you."

Rodolphus raised an eyebrow and took his glass to his lips. "For what?"

"It's a girl." Rodolphus froze making Rabastan grin. "Congratulations."


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm posting two chapters today, because this one was not really supposed to be a chapter, but then I decided to post it anyway ^^**

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 _ **9th december 1975**_

Two big blue eyes were curiously watching the two people standing there by the crib.

"She looks a lot like you." Rodolphus Lestrange was admiring the little being inside of the crib, who was now distracted by a little butterfly flying next to her.

"Don't be ridiculous Rodolphus! She's just a baby, she looks like nothing." Bellatrix stared suspiciously at the baby, as if at any moment, she was going to jump out of her crib and attack her. She didn't. Instead, she started blowing spit bubbles with her mouth. Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "They're really useless at this age. Of course, once she's big enough to hold a wand, I'm going to train her to become the best Death Eater ever!"

"Oh, come on! Don't tell me she isn't the cutest thing you've ever seen!" He approached his daughter's crib. "Who's my little girl? Who's my-"

 _Bleeeaaargh._ The baby vomited on Rodolphus clothes, making Bellatrix roar with laughter.

"You're right. Maybe she isn't that useless!" And it was the first time that Bellatrix Lestrange smiled to her daughter.

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 **Mudbloodslytherinbabe** **thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you like it :)**


	4. Chapter 4

_**20th December 1975**_

Bellatrix massaged her temples, that girl could cry. She spent two hours unsuccessfully trying to calm her down. Rodolphus didn't want to hire a nanny, claiming that he wanted Kali to have her parents there for her and didn't want to be like his parents. Bellatrix laughed at the irony of it. So, where the hell was that bastard? She only agreed on it because she hated having strange people in her house, plus her mother was coming home that night.

Bellatrix glared at the baby in a desperate attempt to calm her down. But was once again unsuccessful. Sighing loudly, she looked around the room, searching for a new idea. She tried giving her a teddy bear, a ballerina doll, a soft emerald green blanket, but nothing worked. She finally decided to take her wand out, with the aim of putting a silent spell on the girl, so she could think properly. But as soon as she lifted her wand, Kali immediately stopped crying. She stared at the black stick with admiration.

"Do you want this?" Bellatrix asked, a bit astonished. "Very well." She gave her daughter her wand. Kali took it and watched it, before putting the tip in her mouth. Bellatrix immediately took it away from her. "Yeah, you don't want to do that." Kali suddenly started crying again and Bellatrix rolled her eyes. She looked around the room again. All those gifts from pureblood wizards and no one had thought about giving her a wand toy. Then Bellatrix had an idea. She started making colourful sparks with her wand. Kali watched it amazed and tried to catch the sparks. She did it for about five minutes before finally giving in and closing her eyes. Bellatrix sighed exhausted.

She went to one of the living rooms and poured herself a drink. How did she get there? This wasn't the life she wanted. She never wanted to become a mother and now she was stuck with her baby and had no help. The noise of something falling on the floor broke her out of her thoughts. She quickly stood up from the armchair and pointed her wand at the intruder.

"Easy Bella, it's just me." Rodolphus said, grabbing the lamp from the floor. "Put this down!" He added when he saw that she was still pointing it in his direction.

"Have you any idea how hard it was to make Kali sleep?" She hissed. "And now, you come here, making all this noise!"

"Sorry Bella, I didn't do it on purpose." He said, half whispering.

"I swear to you that if she wakes up, you're going to regret it big time!"

"Give me a break. I had a long day." He said nonchalantly, giving his back to her. That was the last straw. A blue light streamed past, inches from his left ear. He turned to face her angry. "Are you insane?" He yelled.

The noise of a baby crying came from upstairs. Bellatrix scowled at him. "You woke her up!"

"What?" He asked incredulously. "I did not! You did!"

"I can't believe it! All I have done is take care of _your_ child Kali! Remember her?" She lowered her wand, and pointed her finger upstairs. "Or perhaps, you have been too busy drinking and partying or whatever that you were doing, while I am here with her!"

"For your information, all I have been doing is for the Dark Lord!" He replied dangerously. "And don't you dare saying I don't care for Kali! She means the world to me!"

Bellatrix laughed sarcastically. "Really Rodolphus? Are you playing 'the Dark Lord card'? Does your mission consist in getting drunk? Cause I can smell the alcohol from here."

"Me and the lads went to celebrate after an accomplished mission." He said to her. "Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to see my daughter."

"You're not going near her like that!" She pointed her wand again at him and launched another spell. Rodolphus was now livid with anger.

"For the last time, stop it!" He went to her direction and grabbed her wand.

"Let go of my wand Rodolphus!"

"Only if you stop it!"

"Never!"

There were spells everywhere, making a big mess in the house. The paintings were falling away from the walls, the lamps were broken, the cushions were destroyed and the baby was still crying.

Ten minutes later, Druella Black entered the Lestrange mansion and frowned when she heard a baby crying. "Oh Bella, what have you done to this baby?" She whispered to herself. Then she went upstairs, grabbed the baby and went looking for her daughter. When she arrived in the living room she cried with horror at the sight of her daughter and son-in-law naked on the couch. Bellatrix quickly turned her head to her mother's direction.

"Oh." She said trying not to laugh. "Hello mother."


	5. Chapter 5

_**5th January 1976**_

If there was something that Bellatrix Lestrange hated even more than Muggles and Mudbloods was to attend some Pureblood women gathering. All those women in one room together, drinking tea, and bragging about how they spend their husbands' fortune or gossiping about those who couldn't make it.

However, this afternoon, it was Narcissa's bridal shower. Therefore, she had a social obligation to attend. But she didn't mind, she needed a break from all the crying, she needed to get out of her house. This time, Rodolphus would take care of _their_ daughter. It would be a nice change.

They were all gathered in a tea salon in Diagon Alley. The place was too pink, and had too many house elves working there for Bellatrix' taste.

"Oh, it's so big!" Katherine Parkinson was admiring Narcissa's emerald wedding ring. Bellatrix rolled her eyes, it was no surprise that Parkinson and Bellatrix hated each other. After all her best friend Margaret Bulstrode, was supposed to marry one of the richest and handsome pureblood men of the United Kingdom, Rodolphus Lestrange. That was before Bellatrix came along. So instead she married Henry Flint. "I'm surprised you joined us today, after all didn't you just had a baby?" She turned to Bellatrix.

Bellatrix put on the fakest smile she could muster up. "I did and she's very well, thank you so much for your concern."

"She's the most beautiful baby I've ever seen." Narcissa joined the conversation, not seeming to notice the tense atmosphere. "Can't wait to start having my own." The women giggled. Bellatrix snorted with laughter, _if only she knew_.

"Does Lucius want to have a baby now?" Asked a blond, skinny woman named Bridget Greengrass.

"Oh yes. He's impatient." She answered excitedly. "He wants a boy of course, but to be honest _I'm hoping for a girl_." She whispered that last part making the women laugh.

"Oh but of course he wants a boy." Parkinson started in a mocking tone. "I mean, a man needs an heir to ensure the continuity of the paternal line. After all, we can't risk our family names disappearing from the Wizarding society, can we?" That last sentence was indiscreetly addressed to Bellatrix, who raised an eyebrow. "Of course, as you all may already know, Margaret just had a boy and Henry is overjoyed, that's why she isn't here by the way, having a baby is a full time job. So, when are you and Rodolphus trying again?"

"We are not." Bellatrix straightened up in her chair. "In fact, Rodolphus always wanted a daughter."

"You can't be that naïve _Bella_." Bellatrix frowned for being called by her nickname. "What? It's not like you could count on that brother of his." Rabastan wasn't exactly handsome and popular like his brother was. He had always been quiet and some would say weird. Bellatrix didn't like a lot of people, but she didn't mind him.

"If Rodolphus is unhappy with _our_ daughter's gender, he's the one to blame. But I can assure you that he's a loving father and wouldn't want to exchange Kali against any boy in the world. Although if your husband is hoping for a boy, I really hope that you get the first one right, because well…" An evil grin appeared on her face. "Let's just say that it wouldn't do you a lot of good to get pregnant several times."

Katherine Parkinson narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by Narcissa.

"Who wants more tea?" She asked nervously. "Where in earth is this elf?"

A small house-elf appeared next to her.

"Does mistress wish something?"

"Yes, go fetch some more tea for us!" She ordered nonchalantly.

"Yes mistress!" He bowed and was heading for the kitchen when Bellatrix grabbed his tiny, skinny arm.

"Make sure to put some firewhiskey in my cup elf!" She released a fearful elf without giving him any more attention. She was already regretting coming there. When Narcissa started talking about her honeymoon plans, Bellatrix knew it was time to head home. So, she made up an excuse, saying that she had to go back to her daughter.

Once she was home, she went to her daughter's bedroom. She rolled her eyes when she saw Rodolphus snoring on the armchair, a baby bottle in his hand. Kali was wide awake and smiled when she saw her mother's face. Bellatrix didn't smile back.

"I don't know why I thought that spending time with them was better than with you." She paused. "I'm glad you're a girl. Just promise me you will never be like them, yeah?" She smiled slightly. Kali's smile grew bigger and she was reaching out to her mother. Bellatrix sighed and cradled the little one in her arms. "We'll show them."

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 **If you liked it don't forget to review ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**New chapter after this little Christmas Break, I'll post a new one tomorrow.**

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 _ **10th January 1976**_

Bellatrix was drinking her tea and reading the Daily Prophet. Ever since she had stopped serving the Dark Lord, she was desperately trying to get any information she could about him. Rodolphus had been gone on a mission, so she was alone with her daughter and their house-elf, who was in the kitchen making lunch.

She heard a noise coming from her daughter's bedroom and quickly got up grabbing her wand. She slowly opened the door and pointed her wand to whoever was inside the room, but immediately lowered it.

"M-y, my lord?" She blushed a little.

"Bella. It's been a while." Lord Voldemort grinned at his Death Eater making her cheeks redden a little more. He turned his attention back to the baby. "Kali, isn't it?"

"Yes, my lord." She carefully approached the crib where Voldemort was standing.

"I have to say that I'm not very pleased with you being away for that long." He said coldly. Bellatrix lowered her head and opened her mouth to reply, but Voldemort raised his hand indicating her to be silent. "However, I always welcome new pureblood flesh in this world." Bella nodded quickly. "She's going to be very valuable for us." He added mostly to himself than to Bellatrix, as if he was silently making projects for her.

"She will, my lord." They both remained silent for a moment. "Is there anything I can do for you, my lord?" Bella finally asked. He turned and took a step closer to her, so they were only inches apart.

"As a matter of fact yes, Bella." He stared at her with his sharp red eyes. Her eyes widened a little and she felt her legs quiver. "Are you ready to go back to work?"

Bellatrix looked at Kali and then back at Voldemort.

"Yes, my lord."

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 **Hope you liked it :)**

 **Thanks mudbloodslytherinbabe, it means a lot! Glad you're enjoying it :)**


	7. Chapter 7

_**7th February 1976**_

The garden of Malfoy Mansion was elegantly decorated with black and red flowers. It was snowing and several tables with beautiful centrepieces were arranged under a large tent, protected by a warming charm. Flickering candles were floating along a red carpet leading to the altar.

At four o'clock people started to arrive. The guests were mostly purebloods, but some important half-blood figures were also tolerated. Narcissa Black was in one of the large rooms of the mansion, sitting in front of a dressing table with her mother and sister Bellatrix.

"No! This isn't the right colour!" Narcissa cried out. "And my hairdo, it's just not right!"

"Stop being dramatic, Cissy. This colour works very well with your skin tone, and you hair is fine!" Druella exclaimed as she adjusted her daughter's sleeve.

"This is my wedding mother! I want it to be perfect!"

"You look perfect!" She turned to Bellatrix who was sitting on the bed behind them looking at her nails, bored. "Doesn't she look perfect, Bella?" She asked, almost threateningly. Bellatrix looked up at her mother and then at Narcissa.

"Sure." She shrugged and started looking at her nails again.

"See! This is not the kind of reaction I'm expecting from people."

"Narcissa, calm down!"

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. She just wanted this day to be over with. She let her body fall on the bed, and started to think about the previous night she had spent on a mission with her master.

Meanwhile, Rodolphus was outside in the garden holding Kali. A blond woman with long legs kept on staring at him, smiling. He thought she was probably a Malfoy. He smiled back.

"I still can't believe you're a father." Rodolphus turned around surprised to where the voice had come from and smirked. He saw his friend Evan Rosier, along with another of his fellow Death Eaters, Augustus Rookwood. Evan gently rubbed Kali's head. "It's nice finally meeting you, Kali." Kali made a weird sound and stared at him with her big blue eyes.

"I know, I still can't believe it either. Isn't she beautiful?"

"She is." The other wizard agreed. "You my friend, will have a lot of trouble with that one." He grinned smugly making Rodolphus frown.

"Yeah, I really don't want to think about that. I reckon that's the worst part about having a daughter. Thankfully, I still have a couple of years before having to worry about that."

"Worry about what? Men like you?" Rookwood teased. Evan laughed and Rodolphus rolled his eyes.

"My mother wrote to me last week. She blathered, inches and inches of parchment, about how I should already have found a suitor for Kali. I mean, she hasn't even bothered to visit yet." He told bitterly.

"To ungrateful parents." Evan raised his glass of champagne.

"I think you should listen to your mother young man!" A female authoritative voice came from behind the three men. They all turned around and saw an elegant blonde woman, who should be in her fifties. She was wearing a long black dress with a heavy fur coat over her shoulders.

"Mrs Malfoy, it's nice to see you." Rodolphus greeted her politely.

The woman was now looking at the baby condescendingly.

"There is no time to wait! You must make the decisions on their behalf or they will end up marrying muggles and mudbloods." She said still looking at Kali, who seemed to be more entertained by her father's cloak. "All my daughters had respectful marriages, there is no shame upon my family, which is something you cannot say about your mother-in-law."

Rodolphus quickly turned his head around and was relieved that his wife was nowhere to be seen. If Bellatrix had heard that woman talk about how her sister disgraced her family by marrying a mudblood, this would end up bad, really bad.

"And today my son is getting married to a pureblood woman and accomplishing his duty." She added proudly.

"Yeah, love is beautiful. You must be so proud." Rookwood said in a mocking tone, with both hands lazily stuffed in his pockets. Contrary to the two other men next to him, he had come from a poor family. But his brilliant mind and skills had led him to become a respectful ministry employee. Therefore, he had zero interest in sucking up to old and snobby women like her.

Rosier tried to hide his laugh behind his glass and Rodolphus turned his head away from her. Only Kali giggled happily. Mrs Malfoy looked at him with her glassy eyes a bit surprised, as if she had just noticed him there.

"And you must be?"

"Augustus Rookwood, ma'am. I work at the Ministry."

She looked at him up and down and snorted before leaving.

"Lovely woman."

"Yeah, she scares me a little bit." Rosier said.

When the ceremony started, Rodolphus was standing next to Bellatrix. The blonde woman with long legs was standing next to Mrs Malfoy and another man, that was holding her by her waist, she was most probably one of Lucius' sisters. When her eyes met Rodolphus', she smiled provocatively at him. Smiling, mostly to himself than to her, he murmured _'Respectful marriage my ass.'_

"What?" Bellatrix asked him. He turned to face her and smiled.

"Nothing, dear." Bellatrix grimaced and turned her attention back to her sister, who looked like a fairy-tale princess.


	8. Chapter 8

**Just a little warning, this chapter has some violent content. Enjoy :)**

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 _ **12th April 1976**_

A dozen of hooded figures apparated in a small muggle village. Along with several other Death Eaters, Bellatrix started walking down the street. It was late at night, and most of its residents were already sleeping. There was no soul to be seen, except for a man standing near a fountain.

"Ah! Good Evening my friends!" The man said when he saw them approaching. "I'm pleased you could all join me here. Tonight, your mission is simple," he paused and gave the Death Eaters a mischievous grin. "You will demonstrate our superiority to them."

The Death Eater cheered and went in different directions, making their way inside the many houses. Only one of them remained there. Lord Voldemort approached his Death Eater.

"What is it, Bella?" He whispered in her ear. "You don't want to play?"

Feeling a shiver down her spine, she removed her mask, revealing her beautiful face.

"I was just wondering if you would like to join me?" She asked innocently.

He widened his eyes, surprised by her unexpected question. He hesitated for only a second before nodding his head **.** "After you."

They both went to the biggest house of the village. Bellatrix pointed her wand to the door and instead of using a simple 'Alohomora', she stupefied it.

They entered the house, and heard noises coming from upstairs. Voldemort offered his hand to Bellatrix and led her to the couch where they both sat down and waited for the muggles to come downstairs. Suddenly, a mid-aged man carrying a rifle walked downstairs being followed by his wife, who looked very scared.

"Who's there?" He shouted, and when he saw the two intruders calmly sitting on his couch, he pointed his rifle at them. "Get the hell out of my house! Mary, call the police!"

The woman quickly tried to reach the telephone but Bellatrix was faster, she petrified the man and took a few steps in the woman's direction.

"Stay where you are!" The woman yelled. Bellatrix's grin widened. She loved when they were scared.

"Your dear husband is going to watch you being tortured." She said in a childish way. " _Crucio_!'

The woman screamed and fell on the floor. She tortured the poor woman while Voldemort watched everything from the couch. She did that for about five minutes, before he finally decided to intervene.

"Now, Bella." He put his hand on her hand and lowered it. Bellatrix stared confused at him. "I understand your predilection for this curse, but there are other ways to have fun."

He pointed his wand at the man and undid the spell, the man grabbed his rifle back, and pointed it at Voldemort.

" _Imperio_." He smirked at the man. "Now, be a good Muggle and point it at your wife."

The man turned to his wife and raised his rifle at her.

"What are you doing Richard?" The woman asked in a strangled voice. "Stop it! Please, I beg you! Stop it!"

"Shoot." Voldemort commanded calmly.

Blood splattered everywhere. Bellatrix sneered and Voldemort undid the spell once again. The man widened his eyes, before kneeling and starting to cry.

"What have I done…"

Voldemort wasn't smirking anymore, he approached the man with an expression of disgust on his face.

"Your kind is so weak." He said coldly. "Do you know what happens with weak people?" The man looked up at him, his eyes full with tears. " _Avada Kedavra_!" He shouted. The man's body fell hard on the floor.

Bellatrix and Voldemort exited the house. Her body was burning in ecstasy. She turned to look at her master and smiled.

"Go ahead." He grinned. "You deserve it."

Her smile turned into a wicked grin and she lifted her wand to the sky.

" _Mosmordre_!"


	9. Chapter 9

_**21th July 1976**_

The Death Eaters were gathered at the Riddle House, which was being used as their Headquater. They were waiting for their master to send them on another mission. Rodolphus was sitting on an armchair, having a conversation with Lucius Malfoy.

"So, how's married life treating you?" He asked casually.

"Hum, it hasn't changed much, to be honest. With the exception of having a beloved wife, waiting for me to come home every day."

Rodolphus nodded as he kept on staring at his brother-in-law.

"You know what I mean." Lucius continued. Rodolphus' lips curled in a roguish smirk.

"Not at all, my friend. Not at all."

Lucius adjusted himself on his chair, a bit uncomfortable. What could he possibly say after that? That Bellatrix did love him in her twisted, wicked way? He wasn't sure if he believed that himself. But as he looked at Rodolphus and saw him coolly smoking his cigar, not seeming to be bothered by this, he thought that maybe it wasn't necessary. That maybe the two Lestranges were widely happy with the way things were between them. Weird, he thought. Lucius knew that even if most Death Eaters were mad, cold-blooded murderers, they did care for their own families, as long as none of them did something disgraceful.

"Any plans of becoming a father?" Rodolphus broke him out of his thoughts.

"Of course." He nodded. "I mean, we are not in a rush, but a son would be most welcomed."

"I think it would be nice for Kali to have a cousin near her age." He mused.

"Yes." Lucius agreed politely, both choosing to ignore the fact that she already had a cousin near her age. "How's she, by the way?"

"She's great." He smiled again, this time gently. "Bellatrix is watching her tonight."

Lucius raised an eyebrow, but choose not to comment on it. Knowing Bellatrix, it was a miracle that the little girl was still alive. Sometimes, she would give her to Narcissa, when both Bellatrix and Rodolphus had to go on a mission. At one time, Lucius even checked for cuts and bruises. He didn't find any. The little girl seemed to be perfectly healthy.

Suddenly, Rodolphus' features turned rigid and he wasn't looking at Lucius anymore.

"Would you excuse me for a minute." He said to Lucius, before standing up and starting to walk. Lucius followed him with his eyes and made a bored face when he saw the reason for Rodolphus odd behaviour. Bellatrix had just arrived, and she had Kali in her arms.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Rodolphus asked Bellatrix mildly irritated.

"What do you mean 'what am I doing here'?" She glared at him. "I was waiting for you to come home to watch Kali, but when you didn't show up, well, I had no choice but to take her with me."

"You're the one supposed to watch her tonight!" He snarled.

"What?" She replied angry. "Are you out of your mind, Rodolphus?"

The quarrel was now drawing the attention of the other Death Eaters.

"Don't you remember? Last time, I was the one who stayed there with her."

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes and pondered for a moment. He was right. But she wasn't letting him win.

"I don't give a damn Rodolphus! It was me who stayed several months taking care of her, while you were Merlin knows where!"

Rodolphus opened his mouth to reply, but decided not to. Instead he sighed, massaging his forehead with one hand.

"Bella, you can't bring her here." He said between teeth.

"Why not?" She asked innocently. "She will eventually be one of us."

"Why don't you just have her marked, then?" He asked sarcastically.

"Don't be ridiculous Rodolphus. That kind of magic would probably kill her at her age."

Rodolphus' eyes widened, surprised that she had actually considered it.

"Bellatrix, I'm warning you-" But he didn't have the time to finish his sentence as Lord Voldemort's cold voice cut him off.

"What is going on here?" He asked and his eyes stopped at Kali. "Oh, I didn't know it was 'Take your Daughters and Sons to work day'." He added in a mocking tone. The Death Eaters sneered, it was always a nice moment to see Bellatrix being humiliated like that.

"I'm sorry my lord." Bellatrix apologized. "But Rodolphus and I had a little misunderstanding." She glared at her husband, who rolled his eyes.

"May I ask you what are you planning to do, Bellatrix?"

Bellatrix remained silent, she hadn't thought that through. The other Death Eaters were watching the scene rather amused, some of them laughed. Voldemort turned to them and they immediately stopped.

"You can leave her here tonight." He said coldly. "But this will be the last time something like this happens. Is that understood?"

Bellatrix was taken aback and both she and Rodolphus stared at him confused.

"My lord?" Bellatrix asked.

"I won't kill her Bella." He said mildly annoyed.

"I never thought you would my lord. It's just…" She stopped and glanced at Kali who was already sleeping.

"She'll be fine. Now go and don't let me down." He said menacingly. Bellatrix put her daughter on the couch and casted a charm to prevent her from falling before she apparated with Rodolphus. Voldemort turned to Nagini.

" _Nagini_." He said in parseltongue. _"Watch over her."_

He sat exhausted on the armchair and stared at the baby.

"Kali, explain to me how, of all my servants, you're the one who gives me less trouble."

* * *

 **Not my favourite chapter but well... Hope you enjoyed it anyway :)**

 **Sorry, I cannot make the chapters longer, otherwise I won't be able to update this often ^^'**


	10. Chapter 10

_**3 december 1976**_

The Lestrange mansion was dark and quiet. In the dining room, there were people gathered around a long table, which was decorated with candles and black roses. One would never have guessed that this was actually a child's birthday Party. Bellatrix didn't see the point of it, after all, Kali was too young to remember any of this. But Rodolphus wanted to do it, and even worse, he had invited his parents as well.

Everyone at the table was eating dinner quietly. Rodolphus was sitting at the edge of the table, and Bellatrix was in front of him. Next to them were his parents and on the other side were Rabastan and Kali, who was in a child's chair, playing happily with her food. Eldora Lestrange was observing the little girl with a look of disgust on her face.

"Bellatrix, didn't you teach your daughter not to play with the food?"

Bellatrix looked up a bit astonished by her mother-in-law's comment, but quickly regained herself and frowned.

"She's a baby." She answered dryly. Eldora only gave her a snort. Bellatrix glared at Rodolphus, who only made an apology face.

"So how long are you planning on staying in England?" Rabastan asked, trying to change the subject.

"We're leaving next week to Paris." Roderick Lestrange answered.

"And has she shown any sign of magic yet?" Eldora continued, in the same condescending tone.

Rodolphus opened his mouth to reply but Bellatrix was faster.

"Again, she's just a baby."

"Well, she's already one. You know you have to stimulate them, instead of waiting like lazy parents."

Bellatrix's patience was already on edge. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Feeling the tense atmosphere, Rabastan decided to intervene again.

"Paris, huh? How long are you staying there?"

"Not now, Rabastan." Eldora cut him off. "We're talking about important matters. If she turns out to be a squib, you'll have to figure out what to do with her."

Bellatrix scowled at Eldora, a murderous glint in her eyes.

"That's enough, mother." Rodolphus warned her.

"You don't get to talk to your mother like that." Eldora snapped. "Listen carefully to me-", but before she could finish her sentence, Kali who had been playing with her spoon, threw smashed potatoes towards her grand-mother.

Eldora was livid, she quickly got up from her chair and glared at Kali.

"This girl has no respect whatsoever!" She yelled at Kali. "She's a disrespectful, little brat!"

Kali, startled by this sudden outburst, started to cry. That was the last straw for Bellatrix. She also stood up from her chair, being followed by the three other men. Bellatrix was fuming with rage and Rodolphus was ready to stop her from doing something she might regret.

"We better be going." Roderick said to his wife.

Eldora quickly cleaned her dress with her wand and without saying a word, exited the living room with her husband.

"Well, that was fun." Rabastan said, while pulling a cigarette out of his pocket. Rodolphus glared at him before turning his gaze to his wife. She wasn't looking at him, instead she had her eyes closed and was leaning on the table with her hands.

"Bella…" Rodolphus said softly and put one hand on her shoulder, but she shook it off. She grabbed Kali – who was still crying – and went upstairs.

"Don't follow me!" She snapped.

She entered Kali's bedroom and hold her tightly against her body, when Kali stopped crying she put her daughter inside her crib. Kali stared at her mother with her wet blue eyes. Bellatrix stared back at her daughter before bursting into laugh.

"Good work out there." She said. "You are definitely my daughter."


	11. Chapter 11

_**3rd February 1977**_

After another Poker night, the first thing Rodolphus did when he came back home, was to see his baby girl. He carefully opened her bedroom's door, since he didn't know if she was already asleep. The room was dark, only being illuminated by the moon. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see it better. He slowly approached the crib and saw small toys floating above Kali's head. He smiled to himself. Bellatrix could say anything she wanted, but she was definitely a mama bear.

Figuring that it would be better not to disturb her, he closed the door behind him and went to his room. Bellatrix was reading a book in their bed.

"What are you reading?" He asked as he pulled his shirt off.

"A thousand ways of torturing your husband." She answered dryly.

"Really?" He grinned at her. "Cause I thought that maybe you would like to do something else with me."

Bellatrix looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"And what would that be Roddy?"

He jumped on the bed and took the book from her, throwing it across the room.

"Hey! Be careful with tha-" Before she could finish her sentence, Rodolphus crushed his lips against hers, kissing her furiously and passionately. He ripped her clothes off and she shook him off.

"Alright darling." She grinned nastily at him. "If you want to play. Let's play!"

She took her wand and magically tied him up on the bed.

A couple of minutes later, they were both lying on the bed, side by side. Rodolphus glanced at Bellatrix and smiled tenderly. She looked at him and frowned.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just that… I think it's cute the small things you do for Kali."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the toys floating above her head to help her sleep."

"What? I didn't do it." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Right." He chuckled to himself and she glared at him.

"I didn't do anything Rodolphus. One of the good things about her is that she sleeps fine by herself at night."

"Well, I was just there and I saw the toys floating, so if you didn't do it and I didn't do it…"

Suddenly, Bellatrix's eyes widened and wife and husband stared at each other for a few seconds, before quickly getting up from the bed and running towards their daughter's room.

Bellatrix quickly opened the door and stood by the doorway with Rodolphus behind her. The toys were still there, floating above her head. Bellatrix smiled widely.

"I knew she wasn't a squib!" Rodolphus said proudly.

"Of course she isn't!" Bellatrix snapped before smiling again at her daughter.

"That's kind of impressive how well she can control it, though."

Bellatrix didn't answer, instead she took a few steps forward. When Kali saw her mother's face, she got distracted and the toys started to fall. With a quick movement of her wand, Bellatrix kept them from falling on Kali's head. Kali giggled happily.

"Mommy!" She raised her arms to her mother. Bellatrix smiled and picked her up. Rodolphus approached them and kissed Kali's head.

"That's very good, my darling." Bellatrix said. "You're going to be a very talented witch!"


	12. Chapter 12

_**25th March 1977**_

Rodolphus Lestrange was sitting at the counter of a trendy bar in Diagon Alley. Two seats away from him, was a beautiful brunette drinking some kind of new fancy cocktail. Frequently, she would glance at the door and at her watch as if she was expecting someone. He took a sip of his firewhiskey and directed his blue eyes at her.

"What's a beautiful woman like you doing alone in a bar?"

The woman turned her head to look at him, surprised.

"I'm waiting for someone." She said giving him a half smile. Rodolphus nodded his head.

"Well, if this _person_ doesn't show up, I'll be most glad to replace him and enjoy the company of such lovely woman." He smirked and turned his attention back to his glass. Unlike his fellow Death Eaters, Rodolphus knew that the best way of making a woman interested was to flatter her without insisting too much.

The woman smiled and as expected started studying him better. Of course, this was always the easiest part to Rodolphus, with his well-sculpted face and enigmatic blue eyes. He had shiny brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard that gave him a sexy appearance. The woman glanced at his clothes, he was always elegantly dressed and neat.

"I guess I wouldn't mind having some company while waiting." She said in a soft voice. He looked at her and smiled, it was a smile of victory. "What's your name?"

"You can call me Rodolphus."

"Nice to meet you Rodolphus, I'm Melissa Hatcher."

"And what do you do, Melissa Hatcher?"

"I'm a journalist."

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow. "How interesting. What do you write about?"

"Oh, plenty of stuff." She put a strain of hair behind her ear. "But now we're focused on the war."

Rodolphus nodded and took another sip of his firewhiskey.

"Of course."

They talked and laughed for a couple of hours. By the end of the night, they were sitting side by side and the woman seemed to have forgotten about her date.

"What do you say if we go somewhere more private?" He asked her. She blushed and nodded. Then, he paid their bill and apparated with her to his mansion.

"Is this your house?" She asked, amazed.

"Yes." He answered shortly.

"Wow, It's so beautiful and big."

Rodolphus poured two glasses of an expensive wine and gave one to her.

"Thanks." She said and continued to admire the inside of the mansion. She stopped at a silver cup. "It's beautiful."

"It belonged to Merlin himself."

"Really? It must have cost a fortune!"

He approached her.

"There was this antique collector who had managed somehow to obtain this cup." He said as he lit his cigar. "My grandfather made him a very generous offer, that he couldn't possibly refuse."

Melissa turned to face him and smiled.

"And he didn't."

"He did." He corrected her.

"But," her smile weakened and she looked at him confused, "you have the cup!"

"Yes." He grinned maliciously before turning his back to her.

Melissa frowned slightly, not knowing exactly what he had meant. She decided to give him the benefit of doubt and continued to look around. She stopped at the photography of a little girl.

"Who's that?" She asked.

"My daughter."

"Your daughter?" She frowned again. "I didn't know you have a daughter. Is she with her mother?"

"No, she's sleeping upstairs."

"Oh, so she lives with you?"

"Yes."

"What about her mother?"

But before Rodolphus could answer, Bellatrix appeared in the doorway.

"What's going on here?" She asked and then glared at Melissa. "Who the hell are you?"

Melissa opened her mouth to reply but no sound came out of it. She glanced at Rodolphus looking for an explanation. He looked very calm.

"Bella, this is Melissa Hatcher. Melissa, this is Bellatrix, my wife."

"Your wife?" She asked, confused. But, he wasn't looking at her, he had his eyes on Bellatrix.

"Melissa Hatcher, you say." Bellatrix was also not looking at her, but at her husband. "You mean, that mudblood journalist who writes articles about muggles and how we're supposed to protect them?"

Rodolphus nodded. Melissa finally understood who they were and felt a wave of panic, she started looking for her wand, but didn't find it. Rodolphus must have taken it when she was admiring the cup. He took a few steps towards Bellatrix and gave her a small kiss on the mouth.

"Happy Birthday, dear." He said, and a wicked grin appeared on her face.

Then, he went upstairs, ignoring the screams of the brunette woman. He smiled when he thought about the man who was supposed to meet her in that bar, not only he stood her up, he also signed her death sentence.

Rodolphus entered his daughter's room and casted a silent spell, he didn't want Melissa's screams to wake his daughter up. She was sleeping so serenely, so peacefully, she looked like a little angel. He kissed her forehead and adjusted her blanket.

"Good night, love." He whispered before leaving her bedroom.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed it and please review if you did :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello everyone :) so this chapter will be a little different. I thought that it would be nice to talk about the Lestranges from the point of view of another Death Eater. Of course, I'll only choose those who play an important role in this story. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **16th May 1977**_

It was a starless, cold night, only the full-moon brought some light to the outside, where hooded-figures were gathered. In the centre, stood a stocky little woman next to another hooded-figure.

"Amycus." A cold sharp voice said. "I see you brought a new recruit tonight."

"Yes, my lord." The hooded figure next to the woman answered. "This is my sister, Alecto."

The woman who had kept her head down the entire time, made a slight attempt to look up. But, the sight of two red eyes staring at her, piercing her soul, made her immediately look away from his stare.

"Do you wish to become one of my followers?" He asked, almost kindly.

The woman looked at him again. Next to her, her brother nodded his head quickly. Alecto lowered her eyes to the floor and nodded as well. She didn't know what exactly she was feeling, it was a mixture of fear, excitement, anguish and hope. Yes, hope. Despite her ancient and renowned last name. She and her brother didn't have much money. Therefore, it was almost as if their blood status didn't matter. At school, even if she was a pure-blood Slytherin, she never felt like she belonged anywhere. The girls of her age, never demonstrated any interest in her, she didn't have the grades to compensate her lack of friends and she didn't have the beauty not to care. She had always been excluded, ignored. Moreover, it didn't help that she was close to her brother, creating a wave of nasty rumours that circulated faster than Dragon pox. But now, finally, she would have somewhere to belong, a privileged circle where few where accepted, for the first time of her life she felt proud of carrying the Carrow name. Nevertheless, there was another reason why she was there tonight, claiming devotion to a lord she barely knew. Alecto looked around her, under one of those hoods, behind one of those masks, was the man of her dreams. The one she thought so many times about being with, marrying, having children, living the perfect life. She didn't know for sure which one was him, but she didn't care, she knew that he was there, staring at her right now. As if the thought had just crossed her mind, she quickly straightened her back and adjusted her thin black hair.

"Give me your arm." Lord Voldemort's cold voice ordered. She extended her left arm and he grabbed it with his cold hands. " _Mosmordre_." She felt a burning sensation so intense, that it was making her nauseous. The image of a snake coming out of a skull appeared and the pain stopped. "Now, you will pledge loyalty to me, obey my every order without question, come to me when I summon you, no matter what you are doing. If you do it right, you shall be rewarded. But if you fail me, you shall be punished. Is that understood?" Alecto nodded cautiously. "I didn't hear you!"

"Yes, my Lord." Her voice came in a whisper.

Once the ceremony was over, the people who were gathered around her, took their masks off. Alecto couldn't stop herself from looking around her and her eyes suddenly stopped at _him._ There he was, as handsome as she remembered. She felt her legs begin to quiver when she saw that he was looking straight at her, with the same enigmatic look he always had. She knew that she could easily lost herself inside his blue eyes.

When they were at Hogwarts, in the few times they talked, he had always been nice to her. No other boy, had ever demonstrated any interest in her, and just ignored her. But Rodolphus Lestrange was special, she did know that, every girl inside that castle did know that. She even thought for a moment, that maybe, just maybe, something could happen between them. However, when she heard the news that the eldest Lestrange and her roommate Margaret Bulstrode were going to be engaged, her heart was crushed. But this was how things were, and the cruel fate reminded her once again that she didn't belong there, that she would never marry someone like him.

She remembered that one night when she had caught him alone in the Slytherin common room, drinking firewhiskey. There was something about the way he acted, as if rules didn't apply to him, that was always giving her hope. She could tell that something was bothering him, and she was willing to bet that it had to do with his arranged marriage. Gathering her courage, she decided to tell him that he didn't have to do it, that he was free and that he could do what he wanted, like he always did. She even told him that there were girls that would treat him way better than Bultrosde ever would. He had looked at her, astonished, and she could swear that her heart stopped beating for an instant. But then, his face softened into a smile, he chuckled, and said, 'Thank you', before leaving to his dorm. Alecto slept like an angel that night, dreaming about the infinite doors that this single conversation would open to her.

However, once again, fate wasn't her friend and Rodolphus Lestrange didn't marry Bulstrode after all, choosing another girl like she told him to. Alecto couldn't believe her ears when she heard that he had chosen, of all girls, _her_. The worst of the Black sisters. Slytherin Queen Bee. There she was, standing next to him, a sadistic grin on her face. This was what he liked? She could be mean too.

"Now, as every new member, you must be trained properly. You will learn how to duel, how to act and you'll learn about a new kind of magic." Lord Voldemort's penetrating voice brought her back to reality once again. "I'll choose someone within our circle to train you."

Next to her, her brother shyly raised his hand.

"I volunteer, my lord."

Voldemort looked at him with an amused face.

"Oh no, Amycus." He took a step towards Alecto making her swallow hard. "Let's give your sister the chance of… Knowing her comrades better. Who should I choose?"

He was still staring at her. Alecto looked up to meet his red eyes, but immediately regretted it, when an evil grin appeared on his face. Did he use legilimens on her?

"I know the perfect person for the job." He turned around to where Rodolphus was standing and her heart jumped. Finally, she would get what she wanted, finally, she would spend time with him. "Bella, why don't you do the honour?"

Alecto's face fell and Bellatrix looked at her with a defiant look.

"Bellatrix is my only female Death Eater." He continued. "Well, until now. She will be of most help to you, won't you Bella?"

Alecto looked at Bellatrix again, who was now grinning evilly. Then, she turned her gaze to Rodolphus. He wasn't grinning. He didn't look worried either. Maybe, this wasn't so bad, maybe it would give her the chance of seeing him all the time.

"Of course, my Lord." Bellatrix said, before approaching Alecto. When her face was only a few inches away from Alecto's ear, she whispered. "I'll be your worst nightmare. Tomorrow, 3 p.m., my house. Don't be late."

* * *

 **So, I've always thought that there would be a lot of rivalry between the both of them, since Alecto is the only female Death Eater besides Bella. Now, I'm giving you the reasons why, haha :p**

 **I know that my previous chapters aren't really linked, but the others will be.**

 **Hope you liked it and don't forget to review. :)**


	14. Chapter 14

_**17th May 1977**_

Alecto Carrow was standing outside the Lestrange Manor. She had arrived ten minutes earlier because she didn't want to be late. But now that she thought about it, maybe it wasn't a very good idea to arrive early either. She didn't want Bellatrix to think that she was scared, she wasn't giving her the satisfaction. She looked at her old, leather-strapped watch, maybe the only valuable object she had inherited from her mother. Three o'clock. She sighed deeply and knocked to the door.

A house-elf opened it and glanced at her suspiciously. He was old and looked grumpily.

"I'm here to see Bellatrix Lestrange." She said, condescendingly. After all, she was still above a filthy elf. The elf raised an eyebrow.

"Is Mrs. Lestrange expecting you?"

"Yes." She answered, growing irritated. The elf opened the door, letting her enter. Then, he led her to the main living room. When the elf disappeared leaving her alone in the huge living room, she looked around her and felt really out of place. Would it be ok if she sat on the couch? The last thing she wanted was to piss Bellatrix off.

Suddenly someone entered the room running, Alecto quickly turned her head, but it was neither Bellatrix nor Rodolphus, but a toddler. The little girl stopped abruptly and stared at the woman in front of her. Alecto stared back at the little girl, not sympathetically, not in the way you would look at a cute baby. The girl didn't look scared to find a strange person there, though. Instead she had a glint of curiosity in her eyes.

A weird feeling came across her and suddenly she hated this little girl. Just another reminder of what she would never have. This girl could barely stay on her feet and yet she had everything. She had the perfect life. She was going to be a wealthy pureblood Slytherin, very popular among the other students, have everyone at her feet, then marry some handsome pureblood wizard. Just like her mother.

Another person entered the room a few seconds later, and Alecto's heart started pounding hard.

"There you are." Rodolphus grabbed the little girl who started giggling. "Oh… Hi." He said when he noticed Alecto there. She opened her mouth to respond but before she could say anything, the familiar voice of Bellatrix rang out.

"I really thought you wouldn't come." She said playfully. Bellatrix came from behind Rodolphus and Alecto swallowed hard.

"Bellatrix, be nice." Rodolphus said, reprehensibly. "She's one of us."

Alecto felt her heart skip a beat and then beat again very quickly. He did think that she was just like them, that she belonged there. She tried to hide the smile that was growing across her face. She hoped that Bellatrix wouldn't notice, but she never missed a thing. She was staring at Alecto, with a raised eyebrow. She didn't comment on it, though.

"What do you mean? I'm always nice." She said, innocently. Rodolphus snorted a laugh and Kali started jumping in his arms.

"Well, I'll leave you two ladies at it. I need to take care of this one." He said as he tickled her, Kali started laughing and hugged Rodolphus' head.

"'top it, daddy, 'top!"

Bellatrix rolled her eyes and Alecto watched the two of them leave, that weird sensation coming back again. She was so distracted by her thoughts that she didn't notice Bellatrix staring at her.

"Do you think you have what it takes?"

Alecto was startled by Bellatrix's voice and she turned to face her.

"Yes." She answered dryly.

"Well, I don't think you do!" She approached her slowly. "The question is, why?"

"What?"

"Why are you here?" She said, in a patronizing way, like she was explaining something obvious.

"Because the Dark Lord told you to train me." She answered, hoping that Bellatrix wouldn't notice the trembling in her voice. Bellatrix laughed loudly.

"I don't mean what you are doing in my house! I mean why do you want to be a death eater?"

Alecto didn't answer, she kept on staring at Bellatrix. Wondering if it was a rhetorical question, if Bellatrix could actually read her like an open book.

"Well let me tell you what it's like to be a female Death Eater." Bellatrix sat on her couch like she was on a throne, Alecto didn't know if she was supposed to do the same. "You will be going on missions with misogynist men, who think that a woman shouldn't be there with them, that her place is inside a house, bearing children and fucking them at night." Bellatrix paused to see Alecto's reaction. "Have you ever been with a man?"

Alecto knew exactly what Bellatrix meant by that. No, she hadn't _been_ with a man. Bellatrix let out a laugh.

"Do you know what they'll do to you, if they find out you're a virgin? You can't expect them to behave themselves." She gave her a wicked grin. "'Cause they won't."

"Is that what happened to you?" Alecto asked, disdainfully. She knew she probably shouldn't be speaking with Bellatrix in that tone. Bellatrix raised her eyebrows, possibly surprised by Alecto's audacity. But then she grinned again.

"I can handle myself. The question is: Can you?" She asked in a false concerned way. "Plus, Rodolphus would probably kill whoever tried to do anything to me." She added, provocatively. "I mean, he's so madly in love with me."

Alecto felt her heart leap and she knew that Bellatrix knew. She kept on staring at her, speechless. What could she possibly say after that?

"Well, I have my brother." She added, quietly.

"Amycus? I know stories about you dear brother that would shock your brains out."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't hesitate to give you away if he could get something out of it!"

"You know nothing about us!" She didn't know where the courage to talk to Bellatrix like this was coming from, but she didn't care.

Bellatrix didn't look mad, but amused. She shrugged and got up from the couch.

"Alright, let's get to work." Bellatrix said in a serious tone. "Do you know how to cast the unforgivable curses?"

Alecto nodded slightly. "I think so."

Bellatrix snorted a laugh. "You think so? So, you never tried." It wasn't a question.

"No." She confirmed, shyly.

"Meaning that you're useless."

Alecto frowned, she wasn't bad with charms and curses, she was conviced that she could do it if she tried. Bellatrix sighed, theatrically.

"Alright then, let's see what you can do."

Bellatrix didn't really want to waste her time training someone like Alecto, she remembered Alecto from school, an irrelevant little girl unworthy the honour of serving her master. But now that she knew that Alecto had a crush on Rodolphus, it just became a lot more interesting.

* * *

 **Thanks a lot to those who reviewed, it motivates me to keep writing and I love to read what you have to say!**

 **I confess that Bellatrix does remind me of Cersei Lannister, she's the kind of b*** that you can't help but love ;)**

 **Anyway, hope that you're still enjoying it. :)**

 **P.S. Narcissa will be in the next chapter**


	15. Chapter 15

**I'm so sorry for this absence, I've been so busy lately!**

 **Good news is I'll post the next one tomorrow, enjoy :)**

* * *

 ** _19th July 1977_**

Narcissa Malfoy and Druella Black walked on the stone path leading to the Lestrange Manor. The weather was unusually cold for that time of the year. They reached the magnificent door and rang the doorbell. A house-elf opened it and bowed before letting them in. Mother and daughter gave the little elf their cloaks and without waiting for permission, made their way to the main living room. Bellatrix was sitting on the couch, she had Kali on her lap.

"Bella, how are you doing?" Her mother greeted her. "And Kali darling." Druella smiled and took Kali from Bellatrix.

"Hello mother." Bellatrix replied. "Cissy."

"Hello Bella." Narcissa smiled at her sister and grabbed Kali. "Hello there, sweetie." She said, in a childlike voice.

"Auntie." Kali smiled at Narcissa and kissed her cheek.

"Every time I see you, you're more beautiful!"

"Yes, she is." Their mother agreed. "What about you Narcissa? You've been married for a long time."

Narcissa was feeling a little more uncomfortable. She put Kali on the floor and sat down on the couch.

"Well, Lucius and I are not in a hurry to have children."

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Narcissa had always wanted to have children and she was not buying that they were not in a hurry. Bellatrix remembered when they were young, Narcissa had a huge doll collection, it was almost creepy. She knew something was up.

"Well, you shouldn't wait too long. You're not getting any younger and the more you wait, the more the chances of your children being… abnormal." Their mother said. Abnormal. This was probably the most politically correct term she would use to describe a squib.

Narcissa gulped slightly, almost imperceptibly. But Bellatrix noticed it, confirming her suspicions that something was wrong. She wondered if it had something to do with Lucius. Maybe he wasn't the good husband he claimed to be. Was he hurting Narcissa? Was she afraid of being in bed with him? Narcissa had always been a fragile, porcelain doll. Bellatrix knew she wasn't tough enough and maybe she shouldn't be married to someone like him, someone like them.

She was going to have a serious conversation with her sister, and probably with her brother-in-law. But she knew that it wasn't the right time. Not with their mother right there.

She kept on staring at Narcissa, who only gave a small smile in return. Druella on the other hand, kept on talking about all the things they were doing wrong. Bellatrix didn't even listen anymore, contrary to Narcissa, who was always trying to be the perfect daughter. While Narcissa was nodding, and acknowledging to everything her mother was saying, Bellatrix was trying to find some excuse to be alone with Narcissa.

She looked at Kali who was playing on the floor. Kali looked up and stared at her mother's dark eyes. Then, Bellatrix nodded at the unlit fireplace. Kali turned her head to look at it and then at her mother again, puzzled.

" _Go!"_ Bellatrix formed the word with her mouth, without enunciating it. Kali glanced at the fireplace again and got up, walking clumsily towards it. Bellatrix bit her bottom lip, trying to hide the smile that was appearing across her face. The girl was smart.

Kali sat down in front of the fireplace and started playing with the ashes. Like Bellatrix had predicted, her mother's eyes widened and she quickly got up from the couch.

"Kali! Stop it!" She snapped. "Bellatrix, how can you let you daughter play with ashes, it's not appropriated for a lady." She made a disgusted face. "Now she's all dirty! Come on, Kali. Let's go upstairs so I can change you." She grabbed Kali and climbed the stairs.

"Good girl." Bellatrix murmured.

"What?" Narcissa looked at her sister, puzzled.

"Nothing." She smiled at Narcissa. "So, little sis, what's really going on?"

Narcissa frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, Narcissa. Cut the crap. I've known you for twenty-two years and for twenty-two years you've been waiting for this moment, when you'd finally be able to have the perfect family."

Narcissa looked down, avoiding her sister's gaze on her.

"Cissy!" Bellatrix insisted, growing impatient. "What's the problem? Is it Lucius? Is that bastard mistreating you?"

"No!" Narcissa looked up quickly, outraged. "Why would you say that?"

Bellatrix shrugged. "I don't know you've been acting all weird!"

"You're imagining things Bellatrix!" Narcissa snapped, making Bellatrix frown. "Everything's fine and I don't want to hear you insulting my husband, ever again!"

"Alright then! Sorry!" She snapped back.

They both remained silent until their mother came back, with an all cleaned up Kali. Bellatrix frowned. Kali was wearing a pink dress that she didn't even know she had. She also had a headband with a giant flower on her perfectly coiffed hair.

"What did you do? Replaced my daughter with a porcelain doll?" She asked, wryly.

Druella glared at her daughter. "Always dramatic, aren't you Bella?"

"Tell me about it!" Narcissa mumbled behind her cup. Bellatrix glanced at her and narrowed her eyes. Narcissa could say what she wanted to say. Bellatrix knew that something was wrong and she was determined to find out the truth.

When her mother and Narcissa left her house, she grabbed Kali and took the headband out of her daughter's hair.

"I think I'll burn this." She grimaced at the piece of fabric.


	16. Chapter 16

_**5th August 1977**_

Bellatrix was walking around her bedroom wearing nothing but her black underwear. She was trying to find a nice outfit for the reception that night, but couldn't find anything good enough. The Ministry was holding a party, which was actually a disguised fundraiser and since the Lestranges were one of the wealthiest families of England, they were always invited. In all truth, she hated those ministerial events, but that night was different, that night she was on a mission for her Lord. She grabbed a long, strapless, black dress and put it in front of her body. She glanced herself at the full-length silver mirror and grimaced before shoving it aside. Then she grabbed a green one, it was a tight, knee-length dress that fitted perfectly on her body. But somehow, it wasn't good enough. She shoved it away as well.

"I like this view." Rodolphus said grinning. He had just entered their shared bedroom.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "Did you drop Kali at my mother's?"

Normally, she would have given Kali to Narcissa, but the Malfoys were also attending the party. Plus, things were still a little tense between the two sisters.

"Yep." Rodolphus said, taking the green dress Bellatrix was holding just a few seconds ago. "I like this one."

"Of course you do, you're the one who bought it!" She said, rolling her eyes again.

"Did I?" He snorted a laugh. "Well, I seem to have good taste. Why don't you wear it?"

Bellatrix sighed. "I don't know… It just doesn't seem appropriated."

Usually, she wouldn't get worked up over something as trivial as clothes. But after the party, she was supposed to meet Voldemort and she wanted to look her best.

"I think you'd look very pretty in this." Rodolphus said, getting close to her and kissing her shoulder.

"We don't have time for this."

"It doesn't matter if we're a little late." He said, as he kissed her neck and placed his right hand on her stomach, sliding it down slowly.

Chills shot down her spine. One of the perks about being married to Rodolphus was that he sure knew how to touch a woman. But then, she remembered why she was there and pushed him away quickly.

"No, we can't be late! We're on a mission for our Lord."

Rodolphus looked annoyed, but didn't retort. Instead, he sat on her side of the bed and grabbed the book on her nightstand. It was some book he had never seen before about Dark Magic, most probably a gift from their Lord.

"So, how's the training going?" He asked casually, flipping through the book.

"What?" She asked, looking through her dresser.

"With the Carrow girl." He looked up at her. "I hear a lot of screaming."

She stopped what she was doing and turned around to face him.

"Is there a problem?" She asked, defiantly.

"Well yes, when Kali's home." He frowned and folded his arms. "I don't want her to hear it."

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow, cheekily. "Why not? She should get used to it." She retorted, before turning around and keeping on looking for a dress.

"She's just a child, Bella. I want her to have a normal childhood."

Bellatrix snorted. "Whatever you say." They were raising a future Death Eater, why was he so reluctant about it? It wasn't like he hadn't done some nasty things too. "Anyway, she's coming tonight."

"Who, Kali?" He asked confused.

"No, Carrow!"

"What?" He asked even more confused. "Why?"

"Well, if we're going through with this mission, we need someone unnoticeable, almost invisible. Someone no one cares about." She grinned nastily. "Of course, it can't be me!"

Rodolphus didn't grin back, instead he looked down at the book again. They remained like that for approximately five minutes before someone knocked to the door. Rodolphus went to open it, he kept the door only partially open, since Bellatrix was still almost naked. He closed the door again.

"It's Grummy. He says that your little ' _protegee_ ' is downstairs."

"Why don't you go keep her company, dear." She said without looking up making Rodolphus raise an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because I'm still getting ready and if I have to go there, we'll be late and the lord won't be pleased, plus you seem bored here." She said, putting herself in front of him and winking. Rodolphus smirked looking up and down at his half-naked wife.

"Alright." He finally gave up and went downstairs.

Alecto was standing in the middle of the living room looking all around her.

"You can sit down you know." His words almost made her jump. She directed her eyes towards him at tried to smile. But she was so nervous that it came out in a weird way. He responded by giving her that utterly irresistible smirk of his and let his body fall on the couch.

She sat down shyly in front of him. She could feel her face burn and heart race, she tried her best to avoid his gaze.

"Do you want something to drink?" He asked politely.

"No, thank you." She said, stammering.

They remained silent for a moment, Alecto urgently trying to find something to say and Rodolphus impatiently glancing at the pendulum clock.

"Isn't your daughter home?" She asked finally, in an attempt to make conversation. He averted his eyes from the clock to look at her.

"No, she's at my mother-in-law's." He answered calmly, but Alecto could almost feel a hint of boredom in his voice.

Desperately trying to sound interesting, she replied, "Oh well, it's a very important mission that we have tonight."

"Yep." He agreed distracted.

Alecto looked at him before glancing down at herself. She was wearing a tight, black dress that she had bought two days before, especially for this occasion. It was a very expensive dress and she had to use almost all her savings to buy it. But it would be worth if she could catch Rodolphus' attention. It was almost as important as the mission. Initially, she wasn't part of the plan, since Lord Voldemort wanted his most capable followers to do it. But Bellatrix had made her part of it, she didn't know exactly why she was needed but it didn't really matter, if the mission was successful she would be rewarded.

Her part was simple, while they were inside the ministry, she would have to break inside the Department of Magical Law Enforcement with the aim of finding out their opponents' plans. Even though, they still had the advantage, old Barty Crouch was starting a ruthless hunt that was obtaining results. Augustus Rookwood was going to help her, but since he was a Ministry employee, he could not raise any suspicions. Alecto on the other hand, was unknown from everyone.

Her thoughts were disturbed by the sound of heels on the wood. Bellatrix had just arrived. She was also wearing a black dress, but she looked stunning. Alecto knew that Bellatrix's dress was at least three times more expensive than hers. And the worst part was to see Rodolphus' face, he looked at Bellatrix as if she was the only woman in the world.

"So, what are we waiting for?" She asked arrogantly.

* * *

 **So this is a two-part chapter :)**

 **To be honest I don't know who I'm pairing Kali with. It will most likely be more than just one person but I don't know if I'm pairing her with a Gryffindor, a Slytherin, a Death Eater, an Order of Phoenix member... ;p**

 **But her relationship with Voldemort will probably be a weird paternal one.**

 **Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reviewing!**


	17. Chapter 17

_**5th August 1977**_

The party was taking place inside the Ministry. When they arrived, the reception hall was already full of guests. Bellatrix spotted Lucius talking with Cornelius Fudge who was the advisor of the Minister of Magic, Millicent Bagnold. However, Narcissa was nowhere to be seen. Bellatrix found it weird but it was also a good thing, she was really looking forward to having a little chat with her brother-in-law. But first she had to focus on her mission. She looked around and spotted Rookwood, she made a sign to her husband who understood it instantly.

Their mission consisted in distracting all the important figures to keep the path clear for Alecto and Rookwood. Rodolphus approached Rookwood.

"Hey, how's it going?"

"Not so well." He sighed. "Crouch is paranoid, he suspects everyone and he's convinced that we're here trying to sabotage this event." He gave Rodolphus a small grin.

"Well, he's not that paranoid."

"The problem is that he thinks he's here on duty, he won't drink, he won't relax, he has his eyes on everyone." They both glanced at where Barty Crouch was standing. He stood on a corner straight, with his head held high and looking at everyone suspiciously. "This isn't going to be easy."

"We need a distraction." Rodolphus mused.

"Yep." Augustus nodded. "But what?"

Rodolphus didn't know, it was not like they could use a woman to distract the old fool. But then he had an idea. Maybe he didn't need a woman to distract him, maybe he needed someone to distract his wife. He searched for Mrs. Crouch in the crowd, and found her speaking with another woman. He grinned to himself.

"Leave it to me." He said and walked away before Augustus could reply. Rookwood frowned confused, but knowing Rodolphus, he knew that he could trust him. Rodolphus came next to Bellatrix and whispered in her ear.

"Lucius is distracting Fudge, Yaxley is with Bagnold, I'll deal with Crouch. Tell Alecto to be ready to go."

Bellatrix nodded and went to see Alecto. Rodolphus walked towards Mrs. Crouch.

"Good evening ladies, you're looking very nice this evening." He gave them his signature grin.

"Oh, hello Mr Lestrange." The other woman greeted him, giggling. "Always charming."

"Good Evening." Mrs Crouch greeted politely. He turned towards her and engaged a conversation, using his charm and manipulative skills on her.

Bellatrix watched him from afar and shook her head disbelief, there was no way that this would work. But then, when she turned her head to where Barty Crouch was standing, she saw that he had his attention on his wife and Rodolphus. It took one laugh from Mrs Crouch and a touch to Rodolphus' arm for him to forget why he was there. He walked towards where they were and decided to spend the rest of the night next to his wife.

"Bastard." Bellatrix said amused. Since their plan was working out perfectly, she decided to enjoy the party. She took a glass of Champagne and walked towards Lucius and Fudge.

"Hello Lucius, Mr Fudge."

"Bellatrix." Lucius greeted her, sounding a little annoyed for being interrupted.

"Mrs Lestrange." Fudge said kissing the back of her hand. "How are you enjoying the party?"

"It's a very nice party." She said giving him a fake smile. "I'm surprised though, that you're throwing a party given the _circumstances_." She emphasized the last word making Lucius roll his eyes. Subtlety wasn't her strong suit.

"Oh, you know, let's not stop living! That's exactly what they want us to do." He whispered that last sentence.

"I couldn't agree more." She raised her glass of Champagne. Lucius glared at her, but Fudge didn't seem to notice. "Where's Narcissa, Lucius?"

"She wasn't feeling very well, so she decided to stay home."

"Nothing serious I hope." Fudge said. "There's a dragon pox epidemic right now."

"No, nothing like that, Cornelius." Lucius smiled politely, but Bellatrix narrowed her eyes.

"Then what does she have?" She asked insolently. Lucius hardened his expression.

"This is personal Bellatrix."

"Personal?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, but if you had bothered to visit her, you would have known."

Bellatrix's face was red with rage, she wanted nothing more than to hex him. But she couldn't jeopardize their mission. So, she swallowed her pride and smiled at him.

"Yeah, maybe I will. You know, so I can make sure that everything is okay with her."

Lucius lifted one eyebrow, but decided not to reply, he knew that Bellatrix was crazy and he saw no point in arguing with a crazy person, so he turned towards Fudge and started to tell him about a donation he was thinking of making to St Mungo's. Bellatrix, disinterested on this topic, excused herself and went to take another glass of champagne. This party was starting to get boring and she wanted it to be over so she could return home.

"Bella, Bella, Bella." She heard a familiar voice from behind her. She turned around and saw the face of Evan Rosier.

"Rosier." She greeted uninterested.

"You're looking stunning tonight."

She rolled her eyes. "Give me a break Rosier, yeah?"

"What's the matter?"

"The matter is that we're on a mission, I have no time to play games with you." She whispered.

"Who's playing any game? Do you want to dance?"

She laughed coldly. "No I don't want to dance! Shouldn't you be chasing some brainless seventeen-year-old girl?"

"Nah, they're not that interesting." He winked and she narrowed her eyes, but before she could reply, she saw Alecto coming back with Rookwood. Leaving Rosier alone, she went towards the two Death-Eaters.

"So?"

Alecto smiled triumphantly and Rookwood nodded, like he always did when a mission was completed and walked away so they wouldn't raise any suspicions.

"Where's it?" Bellatrix asked Alecto.

"We found some documents describing their next move. We made a copy which is in my purse."

"Alright, then give me your purse!" Bellatrix commanded.

"What? Why?" Alecto furrowed her eyebrows, she was the one who did all the job, she was the one who risked her ass. Why was Bellatrix asking her this?

"Because _I_ am the one who is going to meet the Dark Lord." Bellatrix hissed. "Give. It. To. Me!"

Grudgingly, she gave her purse to Bellatrix, who smiled in return, a cold, nasty smile.

"Now enjoy the party! You won't have many occasions to do so."

Bellatrix moved away from her and went to meet Rodolphus. Normally she wouldn't have bothered to ask him to join her, but she wanted Alecto to see them together. Bellatrix kissed Rodolphus on the lips, took his hand and walked away, leaving Alecto alone in the party. Clenching her fists, Alecto watched both leave and swore to herself that Bellatrix would pay.

* * *

 **Second part is here, so there's not really a lot of action but important things happened in this chapter and yes, something bad is going to happen, just not right now. ;)**

 **I'm sorry, as I said before, I cannot make the chapters any longer or I'll never finish this story. :/**

 **I would also like to say that I've received some suggestions concerning Kali's love life and I really appreciate it. I'm open to any suggestion you have. :)**

 **Just keep in mind that unfortunately I won't be able to please everyone.**

 **Hope you're still enjoying it! Don't forget to review.**


	18. Chapter 18

_**1st December 1977**_

Rodolphus watched as the flames burned the houses of a muggle suburban neighbourhood. He glanced around him and saw his wife setting everything on her way on fire. He could hear the laughs coming from his comrades and the screams coming from inside the houses. He felt satisfied with themselves, despite the efforts of the Ministry to fight them, it was far from enough. They were more powerful, more ruthless… It was only a matter of time before they won this war.

He started walking towards one of the houses that wasn't burning yet. Some of the other Death Eaters were drinking and laughing inside while the muggles who lived in the house were tied up with a gag in their mouths. Rodolphus went inside the house and took his mask off. He knew that it was only a matter of time before the Aurors or the Order of the Phoenix arrived, but he needed a few minutes of fresh air.

"Whiskey?" One of the Death Eaters offered, he didn't know who. Rodolphus shook his head and sat down on a leather chair next to where the muggles were. He glanced at them, there was a woman crying next to a man who was looking back at Rodolphus frightened and at the same time hopefully as if he was expecting Rodolphus to have mercy on them. He didn't.

"Aren't you afraid of being recognised?" A feminine voice came from behind the mask of one of the Death Eaters. It was Alecto's.

Rodolphus smirked amused. "By who?"

"Well, the muggles for starts."

"It's not like they are getting out of here alive." He shrugged. Alecto sat down on a chair next to him and took her own mask off before taking a deep breath.

"Never really liked those." She said.

"You'll get used to it." He replied casually.

Alecto smiled and felt a weird feeling inside her chest, a good one. The best part of those missions was that she was able to spend a lot of time with him. She had a feeling that they were growing to be friends. Who knew what the future held. Bellatrix wasn't around all the time which made things so much easier and her brother was currently on a mission with MacNair to recruit the giants. She was about to ask him if he felt the same way about the masks when a third Death Eater sat down next to them.

"So, we're almost done here." He said to Rodolphus. "After that we're going at Dolohov's to celebrate. You coming?" Wilkes asked.

Rodolphus snorted a laugh. "Does he know you're going to his house?"

"Well, he lost the last poker game, so he doesn't really have a choice."

"He didn't lose, he had to leave earlier."

"Oh well, same thing." Wilkes shrugged.

"Alright, count on me." Rodolphus chuckled. Wilkes left without extending the invitation to Alecto. She wondered if it was only for the men.

"You do this often?" She asked.

"What?"

"Celebrating?"

"Sometimes." He shrugged.

"Oh." She said averting her eyes from him. "That sounds nice."

"Do you want to come?" He raised an eyebrow.

She looked up surprised. "Can I? I mean, isn't it only for men?"

"Well, that's probably because almost every Death Eater is a man." He chuckled. "But I don't see any reason why you can't come."

"Oh well, in this case I think I'll come." She smiled abroad smile.

Suddenly, all the Death Eaters started to get agitated. Rodolphus looked past Alecto and his face got serious, without looking at her he said. "Put your mask back on."

Alecto did as she was told and turned her face around to see what was going on. Through the window, she could see plenty of spells going in every direction.

"Aurors..." She murmured.

"And the Order of the Phoenix." He corrected her. "Let's go."

He quickly exited the house following his comrades, but Alecto stayed behind. She had already gone on missions and tortured muggles. But this was the first time she confronted other wizards. She knew that she didn't have a choice but to fight. If she deserted she would be killed by her own kind. She took a deep breath and exited the house, with less enthusiasm than her comrades, though.

She looked around her and recognized some of the wizards. Her former headmaster was there, fighting three Death Eaters at the same time. There were also some known aurors such as Alastor Mood and Shakebolt.

Suddenly she felt her heart skip a beat when she saw a green light coming from one of the Aurors' wand. This couldn't be possible. They couldn't be casting an unforgivable, this wasn't legal, they couldn't be doing it. She noticed that the others had also noticed since they were all looking at each other, confused. And then it happened again, and again. Alecto didn't know what to do, she was outside but she wasn't in the middle of the battle.

Some of the Death Eaters started to apparate, they were running away. She searched for Rodolphus, he was still fighting along with another Death Eater that she recognised as being Bellatrix. She wanted to apparate as well, but she couldn't do it when he was still out there, fighting.

When other Aurors started to arrive, Alecto saw Rodolphus grabbing Bellatrix's arm and apparating. She did the same. The first place that came to her mind was her house. So, she apparated inside her living room. Once she was calmer and could think straight she thought that all the Death Eaters would probably be at Dolohov's, so she apparated there.

He lived in a manor hidden somewhere between England and Scotland. It was only his second residence since the main one was located somewhere in Siberia. His manor had a Russian architecture with onion domes and tent-like roofs. Alecto approached the front door and found it open. She decided to come inside and, as predicted, she saw some of the Death Eaters there. No one seemed to notice her arrival. They were more concerned with another problem.

"They were casting Killing curses at us!" Rookwood said. "Which means that they are allowed to do it now!"

"Well, you work at the Ministry, you should've known about this and have warned us!" Karkaroff said in a heavy Russian accent.

"Do you think that I'm aware of every fucking decision they make?" He asked annoyed.

"You should know the important ones!" Karkaroff retorted.

"Igor calm down, it isn't his fault." Dolohov said with a very slight Russian accent. "Now we know, and next time we'll be ready to fight them."

"But now they can kill us!" Karkaroff shouted, clearly panicked. "No, no, no, we can't just go back there and fight them." He said that last sentence most to himself than to the others. But it resulted in a wand being pointed at his face.

"You will do as the Dark Lord commands Karkaroff." It was Bellatrix. "Otherwise I see no reason why I shouldn't kill you right away!"

Rabastan suddenly took a step in her direction. "Calm down Bella. No one's killing anyone! Don't make their jobs even easier. We will find a way, we always do."

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes but Rabastan managed to make her lower her arm. He led her to where Rodolphus were. Rodolphus seemed to be miles away from there, he was staring at the floor, his look empty.

"Coward." Bellatrix mumbled to herself.

"Karkaroff has a point Bella." Rodolphus said finally. She turned around and glared at her husband.

"What did you say?" She hissed.

He looked up and met her gaze. "We can't afford to be careless. Not when we can be killed at any moment."

She narrowed her eyes. "I'm willing to give my life to serve the Dark Lord and so should you!"

"You have a daughter, for Merlin's sake!" He raised his voice a little. "You have to think about her!"

"Kali would be fine Rodolphus! There are a lot of people who would take care of her if something happened to us!"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this! You think that she would be better without her parents?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying!" She rolled her eyes. "I don't intend to get killed, Rodolphus! I'm just saying that we can't let anything stop us from doing our mission. The Dark Lord counts on us." She said proudly.

Rodolphus shook his head disapprovingly, but didn't say anything else. It was useless to try to convince Bellatix of this. Yes, their mission was important and yes, he had accepted to give his life for the cause, and maybe at some point it was the most important thing to him, but not anymore. Now he was a father, he had other priorities. Without saying another word Bellatrix walked away.

"Come on, let's get drunk." Rabastan offered a glass of firewhiskey to his brother who accepted it gladly.

Bellatrix walked angrily towards the bar. She poured herself a drink and sat alone. She never came to this kind of celebration, since she couldn't stand most them, but now she needed a drink.

"Trouble in paradise?" Rosier asked, sitting next to her.

She turned her head and massaged her temples. "I'm not in the mood for this!"

"Com'on! I'll make you feel better."

"Oh yeah? And how do you intend to do this?" She asked wryly.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." He grinned.

"Ok, let's try this, I want you to get away from me." She hissed.

"Look Bella." He said ignoring what she said. "Rodolphus isn't like us, he doesn't understand. He's only seeking power like Malfoy, he's not really here to serve our Lord. He's not loyal."

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow. "I thought he was your friend."

"He is, but like I said, there are more important things than our friendship. Our Lord, for instance."

"So you're saying that you're truly loyal?" She asked sceptically.

"Yes, I am." He said, serious. "And to be honest you should be around people like me, not like him."

She pondered for a few seconds before shaking her head. "No, you're wrong. Rodolphus is loyal, he's just worried because of Kali."

"Seriously Bella, don't be naive. How well do you know your husband?" Rosier sighed. "Look I don't want to be the one to tell you this, but he cheats on you. A lot." Bellatrix glared at Rosier. "Don't look at me like that. I'm only the messenger."

"Get out of here, Rosier!"

"One day you'll realise I'm right. I only hope that it won't be too late." Rosier said before getting up from his chair.

Bellatrix finished her glass and poured herself another one. She glanced at Rodolphus. He was where she had left him along with his brother and to her surprise, Alecto was there with them. Usually, she wouldn't be bothered and would have found the situation hilarious, but somehow, she was angry, angry at Rosier, angry at Rodolphus, angry at the stupid aurors. She got up from her chair and went towards Rodolphus.

"I'm going home." She said, dryly. He glanced at her, still mad. But he got up as well.

"I'm going too." He said to Rabastan and Alecto. "I want to see my daughter." That last sentenced was addressed to Bellatrix, who rolled her eyes. They both apparated leaving Alecto and Rabastan alone. Rabastan got up from the couch and went towards Dolohov, who was yelling at Wilkes for finishing his expensive Vodka. Alecto sighed and thought about going home as well but before she could grab her wand, Rosier sat in front of her.

"Hello." He said calmly.

"Hi." She said, confused.

"I've been watching you, you know." He grinned at her. "I know you have a thing for our dear Roddy."

Alecto widened her eyes and opened her mouth to protest but was shushed by Rosier.

"There's no point trying to deny it. I'm here to help you."

"Help me?"

"Yes, if you want Rodolphus, I can help you with it."

"How?" She asked suddenly interested. She remained silent while Rosier told her about his plan. When he finished, she sighed and shook her head. "That's a terrible idea." She stared at his eyes. "It will only get us in trouble and I really don't see how it will make Rodolphus like me."

"Well think about it, he will be so devastated and he'll probably blame Bellatrix for it, so he will need someone to comfort him."

"And what's in it for you?"

"I have my motives." He grinned. "So?"

Alecto averted her eyes. "I don't know. I'm not convinced that it will work."

"Just think about taking Bellatrix's place. How much do you wish that?"

She sighed. "More than anything in the world."

* * *

 **Don't forget to review :)**


	19. Chapter 19

_**24th December 1977**_

That year, like every year, the Malfoy family was holding a Christmas party at their manor. It was the chance for Abraxas Malfoy to make useful connections with whoever was having the most influence at the time.

Despite the tension between the two Black sisters, Bellatrix decided to attend anyway. The party was supposed to start at eight o'clock, and by nine thirty Bellatrix was still in front of her boudoir finishing her makeup. She was wearing a simple, strapless, black dress with an emerald necklace, hanging perfectly around her delicate neck. Behind her, Kali was on the bed playing with her mother's jewellery. She was also wearing a black dress – which was the only dress she let her mother put on her – and her shoulder-length, dark, curls were contrasting with her porcelain skin, only being coloured by her pink cheeks, redden lips and bright blue eyes.

Rodolphus was waiting for them downstairs, he didn't even try to hurry his wife up anymore. Knowing that he was only going to be yelled at. So, he would just read the Daily Prophet with a glass of firewhiskey on his hand while waiting for them. When Bellatrix finally came downstairs with Kali on her arms. They apparated in front of the Manor gates.

The gardens were all illuminated with Christmas lights, and they could already hear the sounds of music, laughter and talking. They followed the snow-free path that lead to the front door.

The party was being held in the main ballroom. It was all perfectly decorated, as if everything had been meticulously placed. Elinor Malfoy was certainly known for her obsessive behaviour when it came to being the perfect pureblood housewife. Bellatrix almost felt sorry for her sister, but then she remembered that Narcissa's goals weren't that different.

"Bella, maybe one day you'll arrive on time!" She heard her mother's voice coming in a whisper from behind her. Bellatrix didn't say anything, just rolled her eyes.

"Bella!" Her father greeted her. "Look who you brought with you." He smiled gently at Kali, who smiled back at him. She loved her grandfather, he was always trying to make her laugh. "Come here, little one. How pretty you look this evening!" He took Kali from Bellatrix, who seemed relieved not to have to hold her anymore.

Rodolphus joined Lucius who was having a conversation with Evan Rosier and his father, Abraxas and Orion Black. Next to him, a skinny teenager with black hair was quietly drinking his pumpkin juice.

Bellatrix greeted Narcissa, who responded with a polite, but yet cold, greeting. Though her attitude changed completely, when she saw her niece in her father's arms. She and Cygnus started playing with Kali, who was overjoyed to be receiving all this attention. Bellatrix decided to join her mother's and aunt's conversation.

"So, have you heard any news of your son?" Druella asked.

"My son…" Walburga took a deep breath "...Has disgraced his family by running away, I don't want anything to do with him anymore!" She said coldly.

"Cygnus told me that your brother has left him all his money!" She shook her head in disapproval.

"Oh well, Alphard had always been the black sheep of the family! Just like Sirius I guess." She sighed. "You know, we give them everything and they do this to us! I really don't understand. How can't they see how lucky they are for being born in a family like ours?"

Bellatrix rolled her eyes, she wasn't surprised at all that her cousin Sirius had fled away. In all honesty, she had seen it coming since the day he was sorted into Gryffindor. That little blood-traitor. Andromeda, on the other hand, was an unpleasant surprise. Bellatrix found herself clenching unconsciously her glass of wine very tightly. She shook these thoughts away and turned her attention towards her father and sister.

"Who's the prettiest girl in this room?" Her father asked Kali before tickling her belly. Kali burst out laughing. It was such a pleasant sound that it made Bellatrix smile slightly. A scary thought suddenly occurred to her. Her own mother had given her and her sisters a strict and proper pureblood education and it still wasn't enough. She didn't know how, but she couldn't let Kali turn out like her sister or like her cousin.

Kali seemed so happy, so innocent in Cygnus lap. Even if at first, she never wanted children, Bellatrix couldn't deny anymore that she was glad that Kali was there.

During dinner, Bellatrix sat opposite to Rodolphus and next to Evan for her aversion. He was having a conversation with Cygnus, kissing up to him, as he always did. He was really tiring flirting with her all the time. She was married and had a child, what could he possibly be playing at? Despite their blustery relationship, she got along with her husband and couldn't picture herself married to anyone else. Besides there was only one other man that could get anything from her and it wasn't Rosier.

Kali who was restless and still awake, was sitting on Rodolphus' lap, which made very difficult for him to eat his plate. She was jiggling all the time and trying to catch Rodolphus' fork every time he lifted it. Antonin Dolohov, who, was sitting next to Rodolphus, started chuckling at the hilarious scene he was witnessing.

"Very spirited, your daughter." He said in a slight Russian accent. Antonin had grown up in a hidden place in Siberia. The Dolohovs were an important pureblood family in Russia. Antonin's father, Alexandre Dolohov, married an English witch, Roselyn Rowle, that was the reason why he learnt English at a very young age. He went to Durmstrang and when he finished school, his father sent him to England hoping that he would become an important Ministry employee. However, Antonin had a different agenda. He joined Voldemort's army and hadn't spoken with his family ever since.

"She is." Rodolphus agreed. "Just like her mother."

Antonin snorted amused. He wasn't married and didn't really care for children. He understood his duty of continuing his line but he figured he still had time. When the time came, he would find himself a wife. A beautiful pureblood witch, but certainly not someone like Bellatrix, or Alecto for the matter. They were just too crazy.

Kali stared at him with her big blue eyes and he stared back at her. He truly hoped for her sake that she was nothing like mother. She didn't appear to be, with her little angel face. Before he knew what was happening, Kali grimaced and threw up the smashed potatoes she had eaten just a few minutes ago on his robes. Annoyed, Antonin glared at Rodolphus.

"Right, just like her mother." He said before getting up from his chair and walking towards the loo.

Surprised and ignoring Antonin, Rodolphus started cleaning Kali up.

"What's going on my love, are you not feeling well?" He asked, frowning. Kali looked pale and was starting to get agitated on his lap. Not knowing what to do, he called for Bellatrix, who glanced annoyed at him for being disturbed, but when she saw Kali looking ill, she got up immediately from her chair and went towards her husband.

"What happened to her?"

"I don't know, she was looking fine, but then she suddenly threw up."

Bellatrix grabbed Kali in her arms and studied the little girl.

"She's hot. I think she has a fever. I'm going to put her on a bed upstairs." Rodolphus nodded as his wife started walking upstairs without bothering to ask her sister for permission.

When she arrived on the second floor, she opened the first door on her right and turned the lights on. Bellatrix was surprised by what she found inside. It was a baby-blue bedroom, with a wooden crib in the middle. Stunned, Bellatrix looked around her. There were shelves with several stuffed toys and books for children, on a small table in the corner there was a music box and the wallpaper had numerous horses printed on it, they were prancing all around the room. Frowning she wondered if it was Lucius' former nursery. It wouldn't surprise her, since Elinor was the kind to keep everything from Lucius' childhood.

"I think you'll be ok in here." She told Kali, who had already fallen asleep in her mother's arms, before putting her inside the crib. Bellatrix stroke Kali's little head and left the room. When she was heading downstairs she met an angry Narcissa that was scowling at her. Bellatrix rolled her eyes.

"I don't have the time nor the patience for this, Narcissa." She said wryly.

"Bella, you shouldn't be upstairs, what's the matter with you?" She put her hands on her waist. "This is not your house, you can't wander around!"

"Relax." She spat. "I was just putting Kali in a crib, she wasn't feeling well."

Narcissa froze. "What crib?"

"The one inside the blue nursery." Bellatrix grinned. "Does it belong to your beloved husband or are you awaiting a happy event?"

"That's none of your business." She responded in a haughty tone that only Narcissa knew how to muster. "What's wrong with Kali?"

Bellatrix shrugged "She has a fever. Do you have something I can give to her?"

"We must certainly have a potion, but I'm afraid it's too strong for a baby. Let me check with Elinor." She said, before walking away without even waiting for Bellatrix.

Bellatrix watched her go and wondered why her sister was acting so weird. She had already lost one of her sisters, she didn't feel like losing another one. She looked around her and saw an annoyed Antonin exit the loo. His eyes met hers and he scowled at her. Bellatrix raised an eyebrow, and looked at his shirt that had a stain on it.

"What's the matter with you 'tonin? Don't you know how to eat properly?" She teased.

"Don't even start!" He said threateningly, pointing a finger at her and walking past her. Bellatrix laughed, it was one her favourite pastimes to provoke her fellows Death Eaters.

The rest of the evening went by without any incident. It was past midnight and everyone was gathered on another room drinking tea or firewhiskey and talking with each other.

"It's a shame your parents aren't in Britain." Abraxas said to Rodolphus.

Rodolphus only shrugged. "It's becoming a habit."

"Oh well, must be nice having the estate only for you two." He winked at Rodolphus. "Lucius can't wait for us to leave so he can be alone with his delightful wife."

Lucius glared at his father while Narcissa was redder than a tomato. Elinor took the glass of firewhiskey from her husband. "I think that's enough for tonight." She said dryly.

Rodolphus smiled amused watching Abraxas pouting to his wife. He looked at Bellatrix but she seemed to be miles away from there.

"Bella, are you ok?"

She turned her face towards him. "I'm fine. Just tired. Can we leave?"

He nodded. "I'll go get Kali."

"Second floor, first door on your right."

When Rodolphus went upstairs, she started taking her leave.

"You arrive late and you leave before everyone else." Druella hissed. "I raised you better than this Bellatrix."

"My _daughter_ is not feeling well." She replied defiantly. Everything was about appearances with her mother and although she agreed in principle, it would be nice to feel like she cared for their well-being once in a while.

When Rodolphus came back he was empty-handed.

"Where's Kali?"

"I didn't find her."

"Second floor. First door on the right. It's not difficult Rodolphus." She said, starting to lose patience.

"Look, I didn't find her, there are too many rooms in this fucking house." He replied annoyed. Bellatrix rolled her eyes, she was not a big fan of drunk Rodolphus. But she didn't want to pick a fight, she was too tired for it. She went upstairs and opened the door of the nursery. First door on the right, it wasn't difficult, men were really too lazy.

She turned the lights on and approached the crib. But when she was close enough to really see inside of it, she saw that something was wrong. The crib was empty.


	20. Chapter 20

_**25**_ _ **th**_ _ **December 1977**_

Bellatrix stood there in front of the crib, trying to calm herself down. There was probably a reasonable explanation for why her daughter was no longer where she had carefully put her a few hours ago.

Perhaps Narcissa had put her in another room, Elinor probably didn't want someone sleeping in her baby's boy crib. Breathing deeply, she went downstairs and looked for her sister. She finally spotted the blond head that belonged to Narcissa, who was chatting with a couple she recognised as being the Selwyns, she hurried her way towards her sister. On her way, she walked past her husband, who gave her a questioning look.

"Where's Kali?"

She didn't bother answering him and continued walking towards the blond woman.

"Narcissa." She said once she was only a few inches away from her. She noticed that her voice was trembling. She cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure. Narcissa turned to her older sister with a not so friendly look on her face, clearly annoyed for being interrupted. She turned her face back to the Selwyns, and smiled at them.

"Excuse me." She said politely. "What is it Bellatrix?" She asked exasperated.

"Where's Kali?"

Narcissa frowned confused. "What do you mean where's she? She's in the nursery, where you put her."

At this moment, a couple of old people that Bellatrix didn't recognise interrupted them.

"Narcissa darling, I'm afraid we have to get going." The old woman said. "It was a really nice gathering, even better than when it was only Elinor that organised it. But don't tell her I just said that." She whispered before chuckling. Narcissa smiled, clearly full of pride.

"It was very nice having you both tonight."

"Yeah, yeah very nice. Now if you excuse us." Bellatrix pulled her sister away from them.

"Bellatrix! You're embarrassing me!" Narcissa glared at her.

"Didn't you hear me?" Bellatrix glared back at her. "Kali is nowhere to be found!"

Suddenly realising the gravity in her sister's voice, Narcissa knew that this wasn't a joke. She had never seen her sister that worried.

"Calm down, Bella. Perhaps she was crying and one of the house-elves took her. Dobby!" She called the house-elf who appeared seconds later in front of the two sisters.

"Did Mistress call for Dobby?"

"Yes!" She responded arrogantly. "It was you who took Kali Lestrange away from the nursery?"

"Dobby did not take little miss Lestrange. Dobby didn't see her at all."

"Liar!" Bellatrix snapped taking a step towards the house-elf. Dobby flinched, but Narcissa hold her sister back.

"He has no reason to lie, Bella." She said calmly. "I'll ask Elinor, maybe it was her." She turned back to Dobby. "Search every room of this manor for her." Dobby nodded before disappearing with a simple snap of his fingers.

Rodolphus who had been observing the two sisters from a distance, had a feeling that something was wrong. When Narcissa walked away leaving Bellatrix alone, he came new to her.

"What's going on?"

Bellatrix took a deep breath but did not answer.

"Bella?" He insisted.

"I don't know where Kali is."

"What?" He asked, a bit too loud. She glared at her husband. The last thing she needed was to listen to him lecture her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that she disappeared, vanished!" People started looking at them, but Bellatrix didn't care anymore.

"She can barely walk! How can she disappear?"

"I don't know Rodolphus! I don't fucking know!" Now more people were staring at them whispering to themselves. When Narcissa finally came back, Bellatrix had a glint of hope in her eyes, but it went away when she saw the concerned face of Narcissa.

"Elinor doesn't know and…" She trailed her voice. "Dobby couldn't find her. She's not in the house."

Bellatrix felt a wave of fear pass through her. Something had happened to her little daughter. Suddenly, the room started to feel very small, and she was having difficulty breathing.

"How is that even possible?" She heard the angry voice of her husband. Narcissa looked around her, trying not to draw any attention on them. But it was already too late. Every eye in the room were on them.

Bellatrix needed to get out of there. She stormed out of the main ball room until she reached the porch. She breathed deeply, and tried to think.

"We should call the aurors." She heard Narcissa's voice from behind her.

"No!"

"Bella, I know you don't like them! But this is important, you daughter is missing for Merlin's sake an…"

"Do you think I don't know that?" Bellatrix cut her off. "But we can't call the aurors, not when they remain the main suspects!"

"What?" Narcissa frowned. "This is ridiculous Bella. Are you saying that an auror kidnapped Kali? Why would they do that? If they knew you're Death Eaters, you'd be already behind bars."

"Well, not an auror, but an Order of the Phoenix member! They are using unforgivables now, did your husband tell you that? They would do whatever it takes to destabilize us." Bellatrix shook her head. "I know that some of them have their suspicions."

"So what do we do?" She asked weakly. "If we don't call the aurors, it would look suspicious."

Bellatrix pondered for a moment. Narcissa wasn't wrong, pretty much everyone in the room was aware of it by now.

"Fine, call them! But I won't be sitting here waiting for them to find my daughter." She replied.

When they got back inside, some aurors were already there. So much for asking her opinion, Bellatrix thought.

"Bellatrix, where have you been?" Rodolphus came next to her.

"Thinking Rodolphus, which is more than what you've been doing." She snapped nodding her head towards the aurors.

"Our daughter is missing Bellatrix. What did you expect me to do?" He asked sardonically.

"Let's not fight ok?" Narcissa said, trying to calm them down. But she wasn't very convincing. She was about to break down, but Lucius took her in his arms and tried to comfort her.

"The aurors want to talk to you." Rodolphus said shortly. Bellatrix sighed and followed her husband, where a small, fat, bald man, with a ginger moustache stood writing something in his notepad.

Bellatrix answered to all his useless questions and when they were done, Rodolphus took her back to their manor. When she entered her bedroom, she saw the jewellery Kali was playing with earlier in the evening on the bed. She locked herself in the bathroom and stared at her reflection on the mirror. She had bags under her eyes, her makeup was smudgy, her hair was a mess…

She ran herself a bath and got inside the hot water. She had never felt so scared in her entire life. She felt the anger growing within her. Whoever did this was going to pay.

When she exited the bathroom Rodolphus wasn't there, she tried to call his name, but got no answer. She didn't want to sleep, but she was so tired. She shoved her jewellery on the floor, not even bothering to use her wand and lied down on her bed.

Rodolphus apparated in front of a small but charming white house and knocked to the door. The person who answered the door seemed very surprised to see him there.

"Lestrange? What are you doing here? What do you want?"

He sighed before answering "I might need your help."

* * *

 **Hello everyone, it's been so long, I'm sorry I haven't updated this story.**

 **I hope you're still enjoying it, please leave a review if you're liking it and want me to keep writing, it's always encouraging and motivating :)**

 **Thanks lizyeh2000 and bellovettrix for reviewing, I'm glad you're still following this story :)**


	21. Chapter 21

_**19** **th** **January 1978**_

Almost a month had passed since Kali was missing and they still hadn't had any news of her. The Auror department was of no help, claiming that they were very busy at the moment, which was ironic given that the major part of their work concerned the Death Eaters' activities.

However, with Lord Voldemort being away, Bellatrix and Rodolphus could focus on just trying to find her. The word about this misadventure had already spread throughout the magical community, including the Death Eaters. Most of them didn't really care, but a few had been a great support to Rodolphus, which he truly appreciated, his brother being away on a mission, he didn't have anyone else he could really trust.

Lucius – mostly because of Narcissa – had been trying to use his connections in order to find something out. Rookwood – who worked in the Ministry – was trying to get any information he could out of the Auror department. Finally, Alecto had also been very supportive, surprising him a little.

That night, Rodolphus was seating on a leather armchair in the library, staring blankly at the flames inside the fireplace, a firewhiskey glass in his right hand and a piece of parchment in his left one.

He turned his eyes towards the piece of parchment and read it one more time.

 _As I previously told you, I don't think a member of the Order did this. I've asked around and they weren't invited to the Malfoy's Christmas party, none of them was. You're looking in the wrong direction._

 _Regards_

He crumpled the paper and threw it in the fireplace. They were probably looking in the wrong direction without even know what other directions were there to be looked at. If not the Order of the Phoenix, then who?

Bellatrix chose this precise moment to burst into the library. Rodolphus closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Since that Christmas night, they had barely spoken to each other, and when they did, they always ended up arguing.

"Drinking won't bring Kali back Rodolphus." She said, icily.

"Neither will your bitchiness." He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Maybe not." She shot him a bored glance. "But I came up with a plan."

"Did you now." He replied wearied.

"Yes, we go after each member of the Order." She said simply, as if she was stating that the sky was blue.

Rodolphus sighed. "We don't even know each one of them. Plus, we don't even know if it was really one of them." He shrugged.

"Of course it was one of them! Who else'd have done something like that?" She spat.

"I don't know, but think about it, they weren't even at the party."

"As you said, we don't know all of them." Bellatrix replied impatiently.

"So basically, we should go after everyone who attended that bloody party?"

"It would be a start."

"Ok Bellatrix, let's suppose you're right…"

"I am." She cut him off, making him take another deep breath.

"Let's _suppose_ ," he emphasized the last word and she rolled her eyes "that you are right. What's your big plan, put on your Death Eater mask and ask them where Kali Lestrange is? Can't you see a little flaw in your plan?"

Bellatrix rolled her eyes again. "I'm not daft Rodolphus. We won't ask for her, we will look around for her. If we don't find her, we kill them or at least torture them. If we find her…" She paused for a second. "Oh, but they will know that it's us, I'll gladly confirm their suspicions, but don't worry darling, they won't be here to testify against us."

Rodolphus kept staring at his wife as if she had gone mad, but knew better than to try to convince her otherwise.

"Do what you have to do, Bella." He said, before pouring himself another glass of firewhiskey. He was more and more convinced that it wasn't a member of the Order, but then who? He watched the flames dance and took a sip of his drink, there was one think he agreed with Bellatrix, whoever did this was going to pay.

* * *

 **A very short chapter (sorry) but necessary.**

 **Can you guess who is this mysterious person Rodolphus asked for help? An important detail ;)**

 **Anyway, thank you very much for those who reviewed, you made my day :)**

 **Also thanks for those who are following my story but are too shy (or too lazy :p) to leave reviews.**


	22. Chapter 22

_**12** **th** **February 1978**_

Bellatrix stood in front of a brick townhouse in a small village near London, her right hand holding her wand firmly. They had already attacked six houses that belonged either to a known member of the Order of the Phoenix or to a suspicious guest of the Christmas party the Malfoy's held almost two months ago and she was about to attack another one. The house belonged to Benjy Bagley, the new head of the Improper Use of Magic Office. He was not exactly a suspect but since he had left the party just before Kali's disappearance, Bellatrix decided not to leave it to chance.

She walked through the short path leading to the house and opened the door with a simple _Alohomora_. She was amazed by how easy it was to enter a member of the Ministry of Magic's house. She was alone, since Rodolphus and her were having a really hard time working together. She didn't even bother telling him that she was going after another suspect.

She entered the house and walked silently looking in every room for Kali, but was unsuccessful. However, something was weird, the house was empty. The bed in the bedroom was made up, some of the hangers in the closet were empty and the toothbrush wasn't on the sink. _Very curious_ , she thought to herself. She remembered distinctly him mentioning at the party that his predecessor left him with piles of unfinished paperwork, so why would he take any holidays? She then opened another door and was astonished by what she found inside. It was a simple study with a dark wood desk, a black leather chair and shelves holding books. However, what really captured her attention was the wall behind the desk. She took a step closer to have a better look at it. There were photographs of them hanging on the wall. She recognized several of her fellow Death Eaters, including Rodolphus and Rabastan. Amongst the photos were articles regarding Voldemort and the Death Eaters' activities. She took a step back bumping into the desk before apparating back to the Lestrange Manor.

Rodolphus was sitting on the couch of the main living room with a glass of firewhiskey in his hands. His head was starting to spin, so he closed his eyes and tried to focus. He had been drinking a lot since Kali was gone, but it didn't matter to him. Nothing really mattered. He was making up his mind about pouring himself another glass when he heard someone knocked to the door. Cursing whoever was there disturbing him, he opened his eyes again.

Seconds later, the house-elf entered the living room. "Sorry to disturb you Master Lestrange, but Ms. Carrow is here." He said, bowing to Rodolphus.

Rodolphus narrowed his eyes trying to focus. What was Carrow doing there? Did she have a lesson with Bellatrix?

"Sure, send her in." Rodolphus said, straightening himself on the couch and rubbing his eyes. When Alecto appeared, she smiled softly at him. She was wearing a black dress that was a little too tight on her, and her normally straight hair was curly. A soberer man would have noticed the forced resemblance to Bellatrix Lestrange, but Rodolphus only thought that she looked nicer than usual. "Bellatrix isn't here."

"Oh, I didn't come here to see her." Alecto replied softly.

"You didn't?"

"No, Macnair told me that you didn't came to the last Poker game and that they have hardly seen you around, so I get worried."

 _Fucking bastards_ , was all that Rodolphus thought. She came to sit next to him.

"Well, I think that you should've been worried if I was there having fun like nothing happened!" He spat angrily at her. Alecto looked down and murmured a sorry. He sighed and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, I know you're just trying to help." She smiled weakly at him. "This is just so hard you know, I don't understand why someone would have done this."

"You must have some idea of who might have taken her?" Alecto asked, carefully, not wanting to anger him again.

He snorted "Bellatrix thinks a member of the Order of the Phoenix did it."

"You disagree?"

"I have my doubts." He shrugged.

"But, if it wasn't one of them, who would have done it?"

"This is exactly what she says." He almost didn't notice her hand on his.

"I'm sure you'll find her."

He looked at her, the alcohol in his veins messing with his mind. She took his glass and put it on the center table. He didn't object. None of them heard the _'pop'_ coming from the entrance. Bellatrix had just apparated home and was looking for her husband, she froze at the sight of her husband and the Carrow girl sitting on her couch. Was she dreaming or was the bitch holding his hand? Feeling the anger rising in her, she first considered cursing that whore right there. But then, she came to the conclusion that Rodolphus didn't deserve to be fought for, so she apparated to Diagon Alley.

Normally she hardly drank, but that night she was deeply in need of some alcohol. She entered the Leaky Cauldron and asked for a glass of wine. How dared him do that to her? How dared him mess around with another woman when she was trying to find their daughter? And what about Benjy Bagley, was he a member of the Order of the Phoenix? And where was he? She closed her eyes and took another sip of her wine, trying to think.

"Hello there, Beautiful." Said a voice she knew so well. She looked up and glared at the man in front of her.

"What do you want Rosier?"

"Just came to say hello. You look lonely drinking a glass of wine all by yourself. Where's your dear husband?"

Even though a small voice inside of her head wanted to tell him to fuck off, she thought that her night was already miserable, so she really didn't care.

"He's home, not that's any of your business." She faked a smile at him.

"So, you wouldn't mind if I kept you company?"

She sighed, "Rosier, I have a lot in my mind an-"

"I know Bella" He cut her off, "Believe me or not I want to help you."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"You do?" She asked, skeptically.

"I do." He smiled gently at her.

She narrowed her eyes at him and pondered for a moment. She could really use someone's help and it was not like she was getting any from her husband.

"Alright." She took another sip and stared straight in his eyes. "If you truly want to help me, I think that I have a lead."

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, well, it seems like the new head of the Improper Use of Magic Office, Benjy Bagley, also disappeared from his house. I was there early in the night and I saw that there were some clothes missing from his closet, also his toothbrush."

"Maybe he went on a holiday?" Mused Evan Rosier.

"Not likely." Bellatrix shook her head. "I overheard him at the Malfoy's saying that he just got promoted and that his predecessor left him drowning in work."

"So, you think he has something to do with Kali's disappearance?"

"I think that it looks very suspicious." She sighed. "He knows, Rosier."

"What does he know?"

"When I was there, I saw a lot of photos hanging on his study's wall."

"So?"

"Photos of us."

Rosier froze for a moment. "Of us?"

"Yes, me, Rodolphus and some others."

"Did he have a photo of me?" Rosier asked, clearly worried.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "I don't know, I didn't pay attention on all of them."

"Okay…" He said slowly. "We have to report this to the Dark Lord."

Bellatrix nodded. "He's coming back tomorrow."


	23. Chapter 23

_**13 February 1978**_

A couple of people wearing dark robes were gathered around a long table at Lestrange Manor. Only one of them was standing, walking around the table as he spoke.

"Hello my friends." The high voice of Lord Voldemort resounded around the room. "I have been gone for a couple of months, hoping that in the meanwhile you'd be making yourselves useful for the progress of our cause and had the displeasure of hearing that you've lost control of the situation, exposing yourselves around." Concerned murmurs resonated through the room, afraid that they were the ones being aimed. "I have just been informed that a member of the Ministry and possibly of the Order of the Phoenix has information about who you are, which means that other members may also be in possession of this information." The murmurs grew louder. "But not only have they been fooling you around, they also succeeded in distracting you from your duties." This time he glanced straight at Bellatrix, who lowered her head. The others also followed his gaze, starting to understand what this was about. "Therefore, it goes without saying that anyone who dare to defy us, shall be punished." Acknowledgement spread around the table. "The only problem is that nobody seems to know where Benjy Bagley is hiding, so Rosier, Dolohov and MacNair, I leave you the task of finding him." Rosier smirked softly, while Bellatrix widened her eyes in surprise.

"My Lord I volunteer for this mission." She said.

Lord Voldemort turned to face her, a sinister grin appeared on his face.

"I wouldn't expect any less from you, Bellatrix. But I'm afraid that you'd be too… Emotional, giving the circumstances."

Rodolphus frowned confused and turned to face his wife, but she didn't look back at him.

"Very well, you're all dismissed, everyone except Rosier, Dolohov and MacNair."

Bellatrix stormed off the room, making it hard to Rodolphus to keep up with her pace. When he finally reached her, he grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn towards him.

"What was that about?"

Bellatrix glared at him. "What?"

"Giving the circumstances?"

"Yes Rodolphus, Bagley has Kali." She hissed.

Rodolphus widened his eyes "What? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, maybe if you weren't so busy chasing after another woman's skirt." She snapped, making Rodolphus frown in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

She smiled, though it didn't seem genuine. "Last night, I was looking for Kali, like I have been doing for the last couple of weeks, while you were spending your night drinking and doing Merlin knows what with that Carrow bitch."

Rodolphus closed his eyes. He didn't remember much about the previous night, but he remembered Alecto being there. But Alecto wasn't there when he woke up. He couldn't possibly have slept with the witch, could he?

"Nothing happened Bellatrix. She was just here checking on me."

"How very nice of her." Bellatrix replied sarcastically.

"Bella please…" He grabbed her arm one more time.

"You know what Rodolphus, I don't have time for this. Do whatever you want I don't care." She let go of him and walked away leaving him behind. Rodolphus watched her leave but didn't follow her, he was so tired, everything was falling apart around him. He sighed, even though he said that nothing happened, he wasn't so sure himself.

Meanwhile, Rosier, Dolohov and MacNair were standing in front of Lord Voldemort, who was giving them instructions about the mission.

"I understand that Benjy Bagley may have Kali Lestrange with him. I need you to bring her back. Is that understood?" The men nodded "Good, you're dismissed."

"So how are we supposed to find him?" MacNair asked.

"Well, I suggest that we start by going to his house to see if we can find any lead." Antonin stated, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, brilliant idea Antonin." Rosier said. "You do that, I'll go to the Ministry to see if I can find anything."

Antonin sighed, clearly unhappy to be paired up with MacNair. The three men apparated.

However, instead of apparating inside the Ministry, Rosier was standing in front of a small house. He knocked to the door and a woman opened it.

"Thank Merlin you're here!" She sounded really relieved. "So, what's the plan?"

"Where's your brother?"

"I don't know, he doesn't tell me where he goes." Rosier snorted at this. "Tell me, what's the plan?" She stared at him with pleading eyes.

He stared back at her very calm, enjoying making her wait. He took an apple on the small kitchen table and took a bite.

"Very simple, you will discretely bring the girl to where our dear Benjy is hiding, and it will look like he was the one who kidnapped her."

"Ok it's a good plan, the only problem is that we don't know where he is." She sat down at the table. "We're really lucky that he turned out to be an Order of the Phoenix member, though."

Rosier let out a cold laugh.

"You can't be that stupid Carrow!"

She turned to face him confused and a bit offended by his words.

"What do you mean?"

"It's not luck, stupid girl! The idiot doesn't have a clue of who we are, he isn't even a member of Order of The Phoenix. It was me who kidnapped him, who hang those photos on the wall. I told you I had a plan." He told her, sardonically. Alecto seemed shocked by what he had just said.

"So, it was all you? But the Dark Lord…"

"The Dark Lord will be very pleased. After all, what he can't see, can't hurt him." He sneered. Alecto didn't seem convinced, but the damage had already been done, so she didn't have a choice but to go along with it.

"So where's he?"

"There's a little cabin that belongs to his grand-father. There's a photo of him in front of it in his house, so it won't be long before the others figure it out. I will give you the address and you'll have to do it quickly. Understood?" She nodded. "Good, now where's she?"

Alecto led him to the attic. On the corner, a small girl covered in dirt slept profoundly on a ripped and dusty mattress, there were chains around her ankles.

"It wasn't easy to hide her from Amycus, fortunately he never comes here. I had to put a silent spell, she cries a lot."

"She seems weak, have you been feeding her?" He asked.

"I have tried, but she won't eat anything, she keeps on calling for her mother."

Rosier snorted "The world will be better without her anyway…" He stated while pulling his wand out of his robes.

"What are you doing?" Alecto asked, scared.

"What? You didn't think we were going to keep her alive, did you?" He laughed. Alecto didn't answer, but stared shocked at him.

"I don't understand. This wasn't part of the plan."

"Can't you see that our plan is working? Bellatrix and Rodolphus are barely talking to each other, imagine what will happen when they find out that their baby girl is dead."

"But maybe we don't have to kill her, we can just leave her in a muggle orphanage?"

"Oh, please Carrow, don't play innocent. Look at the girl, she's already half-dead because of you." Alecto looked at the small girl, she had been sleeping a lot the past few days, she wasn't eating, she wasn't crying as much as before and she was basically flesh and bone.

'I-I tried to feed her properly…" She stammered. "It's not my fault." Her eyes were watering. Rosier rolled his eyes.

"Put yourself together woman. Now, if you're done with your questions. We don't have much time left." He pointed his wand to Kali. "Avada…"

 _Boom, boom, boom_

A loud sound came from downstairs startling the two Death Eaters.

"What was that? Is someone here?" He hissed at Alecto, who shook her head briefly.

"ALECTO?" A man's voice came from downstairs. "ARE YOU HOME?"

"It's Amycus." Alecto whispered.

"Change of plans." Rosier whispered annoyed. "You kill her and you bring her to the house and put her in the basement." He gave her a piece of paper with the address on it. "I need to go to the Ministry before they figure it out. Hurry." He said before apparating.

When he arrived at the Ministry, Dolohov and MacNair were already there waiting for him.

"Where have you been?"

"I didn't find anything in his office, so I was asking around. Did you find anything?"

MacNair grinned. "A cabin that belongs to his family. Seriously, if he's in there, he's dummier than I thought."

"Let's not waste any time." Antonin said. Rosier nodded apprehensively, they figure it out faster than he had expected.

"Yes, I just need to go to the toilet before." Rosier said, trying to save some time. Antonin rolled his eyes, but nodded to him. He hoped that Carrow would hurry up.

A few minutes later, the three men apparated in front of the cabin. Even though he was a wizard, MacNair always preferred physical violence, that's the reason why instead of using a spell, he kicked the front door to open it.

"Really?" Antonin sighed. "Was that necessary?" MacNair shrugged, smirking.

"Dolohov you go upstairs, MacNair you take this floor and I go to the basement." Rosier said. When Rosier arrived downstairs, Alecto was still there.

"What are you still doing here?" He hissed at her.

"Well, you didn't give me much time." She responded defensively.

"You need to leave! Now! Where's the girl?"

Alecto lowered her gaze to the floor.

"Don't test my patience Alecto, where's she?"

"I didn't have time to kill her, ok!" She answered.

"What? Are you fucking kidding me? I knew I shouldn't have trusted you with this." He spat.

"I couldn't have done it with Amycus home. I was going to do it here but then you showed up."

"Fine! Where's she? I'm going to do it right now!"

Alecto pointed her finger towards the small frame lying on an old and dusty rug, under the stairs. Next to her, Benjy Bagley was lying unconscious.

"Alecto? What are you doing here?" The Scottish accented voice of MacNair froze both of them.

Rosier turned around to find the man in the middle of the stairs.

"MacNair, I told you to take the ground floor."

"Yes, but I didn't find anything there." He shrugged. "What are you doing here?" Then a wicked grin appeared on his face. "Are you two shagging? Didn't mean to interrupt anything."

"What? No!" Rosier said, outraged. Alecto felt a little offended by that.

At this moment, Dolohov appeared in the doorframe.

"I couldn't find anything-" He stopped abruptly when he spotted Alecto. "What are you doing here?"

"I think they are shagging." MacNair laughed.

"Now?" Antonin asked, annoyed.

"We are not shagging." Rosier rolled his eyes. "It appears that Alecto wanted to prove herself to the Dark Lord, so she started an investigation on her own." He glared at her, as if he was asking her to confirm his lie.

"Yes." Alecto nodded. "Sorry I should have told you about this cabin, but I wanted to take all the credit to myself." She lowered her head.

"Stupid really." Rosier said. "You could have got yourself killed."

"I know."

Antonin sighed, exasperated. "Have you at least found something out?"

"No, nothing." Rosier said, quickly. "Let's go upstairs."

"You were wrong MacNair, I guess Bagley isn't that stupid, after all." Antonin grumbled, as the four of them made their way to the exit. Suddenly, a metallic sound came from downstairs.

"What was that?" Dolohov asked.

"Nothing." Rosier forced a smile. "Must be some rats. We should probably be going." Rosier said. Dolohov nodded and turned around to leave, when they heard another noise, only this time, the noise persisted, like something was banging a metallic object.

"A rat you say?" Dolohov frowned. "Must be a very strong one."

"It's nothing, Dolohov, we really must be going. If we fail the Dark Lord…" Rosier insisted.

"Let's take a look." Dolohov said, ignoring Rosier.

"We already did, there's nothing there Dolohov." Rosier insisted, getting angrier.

Dolohov stared at him for a moment before turning towards MacNair. "What do you think?"

MacNair shrugged. "Wouldn't hurt to look again."

The two men started walking downstairs again. Alecto glanced at Rosier, who was following the two men with his eyes, while pulling his wand out of his pocked.

Dolohov and MacNair arrived downstairs and looked around them. They didn't find anything suspicious. It was only when the noise started again that they turned around and saw a man under the stairs, it was very dark so they couldn't see very well.

" _Lumos._ " Antonin pointed his wand towards the man.

He had his hands and feet attached and a gag in his mouth, he was kicking a metallic object and whimpering.

"What the-" Antonin's sentence was cut off by the small frame next to the man. He didn't understand what was happening. Next to him, MacNair opened his mouth slightly, not much could impress the large man, but he was certainly not expecting this.

Antonin approached the man on the floor, and took the gag out of his mouth.

"Help! Help sir please, help!"

Antonin put a silent spell on him. He couldn't stand all the sobbing. He came closer to the baby and took her in his arms. She could barely keep her eyes open.

"Is that the Lestrange's daughter?" He asked MacNair.

"It's hard to say…" He answered, examining her.

When Antonin looked up at Rosier, hoping for an explanation, he saw a wand pointed at him.

"What's the meaning of that, Rosier? Is that man Bagley? Is this baby the Lestrange's one?"

"You should have left when I told you to." Rosier sighed.

"What the hell is going on?" MacNair growled.

"What's going on, MacNair? What's going on is that you should have listened to me!" Rosier shouted. Alecto was sobbing next to him, her wand also directed towards them.

"Why?" Antonin asked. "Why would you do that?"

"Why do you care?" Rosier's face reddened with fury. "It's not like you were friends with Rodolphus and last time I checked you hated Bellatrix!"

"Maybe I'm not friends with Rodolphus or a big fan of that crazy bitch _like you are_." He said sarcastically. "But I'm not letting you harm a pureblood child."

Rosier burst into laughter. "Seriously? Antonin Dolohov, the defender of pureblood brats."

Dolohov turned towards Alecto. "You helped him?"

Alecto didn't say anything. Rosier took advantage of this moment of distraction and casted a stunning spell on MacNair. At the same time, purple sparks came out of Dolohov's wand and hit Rosier who was shoved off the stairs.

"Carrow, don't oblige me to do the same to you! Get out of my way."

Alecto took a step aside allowing him to climb the stairs and exit the basement. Kali started crying.

"Shhh." He said softly. "Calm down, sweetheart. It's over I'm taking you home."

"Are you going to tell on us?" Alecto's shy voice came from behind him. He turned around angry.

"What do you think?" He asked wryly.

"I think it would be a terrible idea." She answered, making Dolohov raise an eyebrow.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"No, if you tell them, they will probably kill us-"

"Probably." Dolohov cut her off.

"-but If they do, the Dark Lord won't be pleased to lose two of his supporters."

Dolohov narrowed his eyes. "Ok, so maybe he'll punish Bellatrix and Rodolphus a little bit, but that's their choice to make, to kill you both that is, not mine."

"Perhaps not!" This time it was Rosier's voice that he heard. He turned around and saw Rosier climbing up the stairs with difficulty. "But don't forget that I have something on you too Dolohov." Antonin suddenly froze. "Oh yeah, and I bet the Dark Lord won't be pleased to know what I have to say to him about you."

Alecto looked at them both confused. Rosier was grinning while Dolohov was greeting his teeth.

"Fine I won't tell them." He said finally. "But I don't ever want to see any of you near this child again." He pointed his finger at them threateningly.

They decided to cast a memory spell on MacNair, so he wouldn't remember anything. They would say that Bagley attacked them and that they were forced to kill him.

Dolohov took Kali to St Mungo's, it was better that neither Rodolphus nor Bellatrix saw her in that state. The healers cleaned her up, and put her under intensive care. Antonin was feeling very exhausted but he stayed next to her the whole night. He couldn't understand why Rosier did this. He knew that the man was in love with Bellatrix, but to the point of killing her child? Dolohov stared at the little girl who was sleeping deeply and felt something he had never felt before, empathy.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it's the longest one so please leave a review.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hello everyone, I know it has been forever since I last updated and I am sorry about that. I just wasn't happy with this chapter and I just kept on postponing it, plus I have been so busy lately... Anyway, I really enjoy writing this fic, so I will try to update more often. Thanks for your patience and please leave a review if you like it, it does help.**

* * *

 _ **14th February 1978**_

Antonin Dolohov had a strange dream that night. He dreamed about a baby. He wasn't one to think or even care about children. Yet, the previous events of the night had messed up with his subconscious, bringing back to the surface what he had been trying so hard to bury in the deepest corners of his mind. Firstly, he saw a blond woman standing in front of him, her face seemed familiar somehow, he then lowered his eyes to her arms and saw that she was holding something, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He took a step forward to have a closer look, he could see that the thing in her arms was alive, he took another step, and the thing turned its head and stared at him through big blue eyes.

When he opened his eyes, he thought for a moment that he was still dreaming since two big blue eyes were actually staring at him. He blinked a few times trying to focus through the bright light of the room he was in.

"I'm sorry, sir." A red-headed woman who was holding Kali smiled at him. "But I thought that you'd like to know that your daughter has just woken up."

He focused on the little girl in the woman's arms. She seemed in perfect health, she had gained weight, all of her bruises were gone and her face recovered a pinky complexion.

"She looks a lot better."

"Yes, she was in critical condition when she arrived, but our healing potions are really effective, plus she's a little fighter." She said, tickling Kali's belly, making the little girl giggle. Then, the woman's expression saddened slightly. "I'm sorry sir… But I have to ask what happened to her." She faltered. "I mean, it's not everyday that we see a child that… mistreated."

Antonin narrowed his eyes, understanding what was about to happen.

"Someone from the auror department is outside, she wants to speak with you to, err, clarify the situation." She tried a smile.

He considered the woman for a brief moment. When he arrived at St Mungus he did not registered under Kali's real name, after all it would be a very bad idea to explain to the aurors that the person responsible for Kali's kidnapping, was actually Ministry's employee Benjy Bagley, because of his knowledge of her parents being Death Eaters. He couldn't tell the truth either.

"Sure." He gave the woman a reassuring smile. "Can I at least hold my daughter while you go get her?" She hesitated. "Please, I really need to hold her." He pleaded softly. She smiled and gave Kali to him before exiting the room.

A few minutes later when the woman came back being followed by another woman, the room was empty.

"I- I don't understand, they were right here. I just left for a few seconds. Oh no, what have I done? I trusted him! But he seemed so nice... What if the girl is still in danger?"

The other woman came near the bed in the middle of the room, she spotted a golden light coming from the sheets.

"Don't worry." Alice Longbottom took the little golden bracelet from the sheets. "We'll find her."

oOo

Bellatrix Lestrange hadn't slept at all that night. It took all of her strength not to go after Benjy Bagley herself. She could barely trust the other Death Eaters with the simplest of missions, let alone with her daughter's life. But she was following Voldemort's orders and even if it killed her, she had no other choice but to wait and hope for the best.

1 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m.

She was getting more and more restless, walking around the house, picking things up, moving stuff around, looking through the window. Anything to stop her mind from working, to stop speculating about the worst-case scenarios.

4 a.m., 5 a.m., 6 a.m.

She finally decided to wait inside her daughter's bedroom. It was exactly the way it was when Kali was last there. Bellatrix came near the armchair and smiled when she saw the pile of dresses on it. She thought about how Kali had refused every single dress except for the black one. A true miniature version of herself.

She sat on the armchair and looked through the window. She missed her so much, it was painful. She rather be cursed with a thousand cruciatus curses than to be feeling like she was feeling at the moment. Her eyelids were getting heavy as she struggled to keep her eyes open. How could she possibly sleep when daughter was out there, alone, terrified… Letting the darkest of thoughts invade her mind, she finally closed her eyes, falling asleep on the armchair. Her dreams were no better than reality. It was only when she felt something on her legs that she finally opened her eyes.

At first, she blinked a couple of times before realizing who was there holding her legs.

"Kali?" She straightened herself in the armchair and touched the little girl's head. "Kali!" She put her daughter on her lap and hugged her tightly.

"Mommy" Kali said.

She looked at her daughter as if she needed confirmation that it was really her and smiled, she kissed her forehead and hugged her again. She couldn't believe that her daughter was finally there with her. For a brief moment, she was afraid it was only a dream, but then she noticed a man standing in the doorframe.

"Dolohov." She said. Antonin nodded before turning around to leave. "Wait!" She said getting up from the armchair, still holding her daughter. "I need to know! Was it really Bagley? Where's he? I hope you made him suffer for what he did!"

Antonin sighed. "Bellatrix I'm tired, it was a very long night. Can we do this another time?"

"No!" She spat angrily. "I need to know…" She faltered. "Was she at least ok?"

He looked straight at her eyes, and for the first time in his life he could see fear in them. "Yes, she was fine." He lied.

Bellatrix glanced at her daughter again, she looked a little skinnier than she remembered but nothing to be alarmed with.

"Where's Rodolphus?" He asked.

"I don't know." She answered bored. "Probably with Rabastan. Where are the others?"

"They…" Antonin pondered for a moment. "went to report to the Dark Lord." It wasn't a lie, even if it happened a few hours ago. Bellatrix just nodded and turned her attention back to her daughter who was now playing with her mother's locks, like nothing had happened.

"Tha-anks, Antonin." She said with difficulty, a hint of a grin appeared on his face. "But now I-"

"Yes." He cut her off. "It's time I left."

Once Dolohov was out of sight, Bellatrix took her daughter to the bathroom and gave her a bath. Kali started playing with the water, laughing to herself and Bellatrix was astonished by how normal her daughter was acting. She was glad that her daughter didn't seem to be traumatized by everything she's been through, but again she was _her_ daughter. She smiled as she watched Kali play. It was hard to admit, but she had never been so scared in her entire life.

It was over now.

She took Kali out of the bathtub and decided to take her to her bedroom, not that she thought something would happen again, but she needed to have her daughter next to her. She put her in her bed and lied down next to her. Bellatrix fell asleep very quickly, but Kali remained awake, still playing with her mother's hair.

oOo

Rodolphus Lestrange had decided that he would go after Benjy Bagley, despite the Dark Lord's orders forbidding him to do so. If there was any chance to get his daughter back, he would do it.

"Hey, do you want to go to the Leaky Cauldron? We can go get a drink?" He heard his brother's voice from behind him.

Rodolphus sighed. "Rabastan, don't."

"Don't what?" His brother asked.

Rodolphus turned around and stared at Rabastan's matching blue eyes. A feature of the Lestrange family. "Don't do that. You know that I have to do it."

"I know. That's precisely the reason why I'm here." Rabastan shook his head. "Believe me, I know how much you want to find Kali on your own. But that would be a mistake."

Rodolphus narrowed his eyes. "I can't sit here doing nothing! I just can't." He raised his voice.

"Rodolphus listen to me. If you do this, not only you'll be punished by the Dark Lord, but you may put all of us at risk!"

"How dare you? Don't you care about Kali at all?"

"Of course, I do." Rabastan looked offended. "But the Dark Lord sent three more than capable Death Eaters to rescue her. He knows what he's doing. If you or Bellatrix goes, you might jeopardize everything and expose yourselves." Rodolphus rolled his eyes. "I've known you my entire life Rod, and I know that you won't care if you get caught as long as you save Kali-"

"You've got that right." Rodolphus replied bitterly.

"But I believe that if we play it right. You can save her and at the same time stay out of Azkaban."

Rodolphus didn't respond. Instead he stared at the ground, holding his wand tightly. It was very hard to remain still, even if a small part of him knew his brother was right.

"Please Rod. Give them at least the chance to find her. If they fail, or if things start to get out of control, I'll be the first one at your side to help you." Rabastan pleaded.

Rodolphus looked up to meet his brother's eyes once again before sighing deeply.

"Fine. But If they don't come back by morning, I'm going after them."

Rabastan sighed, but complied. He knew that he wouldn't get any better than this.

It was almost morning, Rabastan was already having his fourth glass of firewhiskey while his brother had only had two glasses of butterbeer, he wanted to have his head clear in the eventuality of having to go after Benjy Bagley. Rabastan was talking about nothing and everything, but Rodolphus was barely listening, he couldn't help himself but to think about his daughter.

It was just when he decided that it would be better to wait for them at home that he saw Rosier enter the pub. He suddenly raised up from his chair, and walked determinedly towards the other man.

"Rosier!" He shouted out.

Rosier turned around and sighed profoundly.

"Rodolphus." He said flatly. "I didn't know you'd be here."

"Is everything ok? Did you find her?"

Rosier stared at Rodolphus and for a moment, he felt all the anger coming back and at some point, he even thought about killing Rodolphus right there, everything that he had done wouldn't be for nothing. This made him smirk.

"Sure."

"Where's she?" Rodolphus asked urgently.

"I don't know, Dolohov took her while we stayed behind and cleaned up the mess, after we went to report to the Dark Lord."

Without saying another word, Rodolphus apparated back home. Rosier sighed and sat down on the stool bar and asked for the pretty bartender to fill his glass with the strongest firewhiskey they had. He had been friends with Rodolphus since their first year at Hogwarts. He thought about Dolohov and wondered if his threat had had any effect on him, he was pretty confident about it, what he had on him was too big to be ignored. He had made it a goal to find dirt on his fellow Death Eaters, after all you never know when you'll need it.

When Rodolphus apparated back in the manor. He ran towards Kali's bedroom, he couldn't believe that it was real, that they had actually find her, after all this time. But when he got there, the bedroom was empty. Frowning, he first thought that it was a bad joke, and that they hadn't actually find her. Feeling a weird sensation in his stomach, he then assumed that Bellatrix had probably taken the girl with her. He hurried his way toward their bedroom and opened the door abruptly. The bedroom was dark, so he had trouble seeing inside it. He came near the bed and saw the shape of his wife's body. Next to her, a small frame moved. He froze, as if a sudden movement, could make him wake up from a cruel dream.

"Daddy." He heard the soft voice he had missed so much. He took a few steps towards the bed and sat down next to her. He touched her soft locks and stroked her head.

"Baby girl." He said, before pulling her towards him and hugging her tightly. "I missed you so much."

Alarmed by the sudden movement next to her, Bellatrix opened her eyes abruptly looking for her wand, but relaxed when she saw her husband. They stared at each other, without saying anything. Whatever fight or insult or accusation they were holding back would wait. All they wanted at the moment was to enjoy it.


End file.
